Sasu's Ghost
by Plum-Hime
Summary: AU. OC-Centric. 'When one dies, they don't expect to be brought back to life to help a lonely kid after a massacre. I've learned to start expecting the unexpected.' Currently Updating
1. Prologue

**Summary: AU. When one dies, they don't expect to be brought back to life to help a lonely kid after a massacre. I've learned to start expecting the unexpected. (OC-centric)**

**Updated: 1/24/16**

***I will be deleting the existing chapters and posting the re-writes as I complete them—I apologize for the inconvenience***

Prologue

_First person POV_

There are many factors that can lead to utter panic.

Paralysis and blindness are the two major indicators that basically overwhelm one's self; and lucky me was hit with both of them simultaneously.

There was solid ground beneath me, so the sense of actually _feeling_ was still there—but the only real feeling I got was aching pain.

There was oncoming headache that nestled itself deep into my skull, and the dull throb pulsing in my lower back didn't help much either.

And if that wasn't enough, sucking in oxygen was becoming more of a chore than a God-given instinct. But the air itself wasn't normal—there was a twinge of staleness, almost as if the air had never seen the light of day; always circulating the same walls, never leaving.

And if the air was trapped, than I most likely was too.

The panic returned—the pressing questions of where I was and who I was and where I had been taken violently circling in my mind.

I didn't even notice that I had started to hyperventilate.

In my frightened haste to get free from whatever I was imprisoned in, I begun to push at the enormous gap of darkness—pushing for a way out—an escape.

Streams of light poked through, noises and colors illuminating and flashing hurriedly.

There was strain now, a sense of heaviness everywhere, but I was desperate.

Desperate for answers, desperate for freedom—I wanted _out_.

And finally, I was given opportunity.

The darkness illuminated tenfold—colors bursting from every direction. It was overwhelming, chaotic. Colors shifted rapidly, tiny glimpses of shapes and pictures appeared and disappeared. In a matter of seconds, voices started mixing in with the hectic slideshow. They were familiar—painfully so. I knew those voices so well that it _hurt_.

It was like this never-ending loop of pure disorientation, and all I could do was absorb it.

"Stop," I whispered, eyes squeezed shut and hands protectively over my ears, "_stop_."

The battle for control was waning—and I was losing.

It was complete overload of just everything—a feeling of who I was and who I had been colliding painfully and being ripped away forcefully.

The colors continued, morphing into a hazy face that sent chills down my spine from familiarity.

Mentally, I tried arranging the colors to fit the face I was seeing; pressing for it to change into something, _anything_. My want outweighed my need, and I willed for it to continue into a clearer picture.

I wanted to know who this person was—wanted to know why everything was complete chaos due to the awareness I had because of this face.

With one last silent, strangled cry, I forced the pictures to settle—the noises to blur into smaller silence.

And confusingly, whatever force I had worked.

They had turned into a woman, I realized, and she was crying.

"Please," she croaked, sobbing into her hand as the bright surroundings behind her and in front of me blurred into utter nothingness, "don't take her away—please, god, no. _Please_."

She continued sobbing, thick tears streaming down her horrified face. I felt each one hit my skin, tingling upon impact.

Dazed, I realized the ache was flaring, but the paralysis was returning.

The pale hand—_my hand_—she had clasped in her free one went completely limp, and the sobs became louder.

_"Please don't take away my daughter!"_

There was a brief acknowledgment of what was happening—a tiny understanding of what just unfolded, but it was halted before it was completely processed.

**"Enough."**

The scene shattered in a million pieces at the new, deeper voice.

The darkness came back, flooding out all of the colors and reflections.

I found myself sitting up with my eyes wide and shoulder shaky, gasping for air once again. The sudden halt of _whatever_ that just was left me dizzy, disoriented even, and I tried to focus back on reality before I passed out from nausea.

I strained my ears to listen to the soft footsteps that echoed on the smooth, solid ground; sounding a lot closer to where I sat than it should have been.

I waited with baited breath, unsure of how to react—was it help? Danger? An attacker?

The darkness of the room was so vast that I couldn't even see my hand an inch away from my face—let alone some nutcase that was potentially about to murder me.

Shifting to sit on my knees with a slight groan—because _god_, that _hurt_—I swallowed the lump in my throat, deciding against my better judgment.

"Uh, hello?" I called, my voice sounding thick and raspy from lack of use.

It was an utterly stupid idea—true horror movie victim potential—but curiosity overcame logic.

Immediately after my 'ingenious' plan, candles sprung to life; an eerie glow lighting the beautifully designed arch ways that hung overhead, wisps of dust and smoke flying everywhere.

I coughed and hacked, blinking dazedly as I was assaulted by the fray.

Shivering as I held back another cough, I noticed the atmosphere shift—turning into something more intense; ancient even.

As I gazed up, I understood why.

With halted breath and horror filled eyes, I gazed at the figure before me, not sure whether to scream or run.

Instead, I remained frozen, thoughts racing a mile a minute.

You'd do the same if you were face to face with the grim reaper.

"No normal human is able to be to do what you have just done—it is one of the laws of the universe," he mused dryly, shifting his weight from foot to bony foot, "but you seem very adamant on defying those laws today, Ms. Flynn, in more ways than one."

Dazed and a bit apprehensive, I peered deeply into his hollow eyes, not exactly sure what he was getting at.

"You look rather confused," he stated, bony head inclining a bit at the assumption, "why is that, exactly?"

"Defying the laws of the universe?" I asked hesitantly, still a bit in shock, "and _Ms. Flynn_? Is that my name or something?"

I accusingly narrowed my eyes slightly when I could feel his amusement rolling off him in waves.

"I should have foreseen that you would forget almost everything entirely—but yes, Flynn is indeed your last name in your previous life—Susana being your first." He replied smartly, gesturing to me with his skeletal hand.

"_Previous life_?" I stuttered with intensity, shocked to the core.

I saw his chin slightly incline once more—a nod, perhaps? He swiftly gestured to me, bony hands gripping what appeared to be a scythe, "Yes, previous—you died on the wrong date, Ms. Flynn—defying that law I had just mentioned. No normal human just dies before they're supposed to—yet here you are, obviously an exception to that rule."

With my body stiff and rigid, and my arms and hands numb, I stared at the floor with wide eyes.

How could I be _dead_?

I don't remember dying—I don't remember _anything_ really.

There were bits and pieces that clung to my consciousness as he stated my name—reminding me of some smaller details of my life.

I was fifteen—I liked baking and I liked the smell of carnations.

But in truth, _that was it._

_That's all I could remember._

My bleary eyes focused back to reality when I saw hands—bony and skeletal hands, mind you—pass back and forth between my line of sight and the floor.

Snapping my head up, I stared with confusion in my eyes at the figure before me, not really knowing how to take all the information in.

Yes, I was dead. Yes, I was panicking. And yes, I was slightly intimidated by the guy in front of me who lacked skin.

What on earth _happened_ today?

"I believe it to be right of me to explain your current predicament." Death rasped, standing up straighter—empty eye sockets boring a hole in my head with his stare.

"An explanation would be nice, yes." I replied dryly, still anxious about everything going on.

His turned, swinging his scythe forward and revealing a parchment of paper that appeared with a _pop_ only seconds later. He leaned forward, gripping at the edges of the worn sheet, and made a slight noise of understanding.

"It says here you were to die at the age of 76 from a heart attack—yet I don't believe your current age is 76, correct? At most you'd be fifteen, which is highly odd considering the situation." He mused, rubbing the part of his face where his chin would be.

I just blinked—already associated to the oddity of the situation—and processed the information.

Urging him to continue, he got the gesture, reading a few more lines before he hummed, "People like you are rarities. It is like the saying, 'you were in the wrong place at the wrong time', isn't it?"

He was trying to make light of the situation for reasons beyond me.

It didn't work in the slightest.

"Wait," I spoke barely above a whisper, clenching my hands at my sides, "you're saying that I died, but I _shouldn't_ have? How on earth did _that_ happen?"

"I am not quite sure," he responded, not missing a beat, "This situation hasn't happened for over two millennia, therefore the situation is indeed a mystery. But I am entitled to give you a 'second chance' per say—due to the circumstances and all."

"A second chance? What kind of second chance?"

"Well," he uttered, snapping his fingers and making the parchment disappear, "you still have a lifetime that belongs to you, hence the second chance—I'll be giving you it back partially."

With a confused furrow of my eyebrows, I quizzically look at his dark from, "Partially?"

"There is a price to be paid for the second chance—you did die after all, so there will be repercussions. Repercussions with risks, that is."

"Risks," I asked, a bit apprehensive about what exactly the danger would involve, "what risks?"

"Your life will be yours," he stated, tone echoing, "yet it won't."

There was a brief pause, a slow moment in which I processed the information delicately.

"_What_?" I asked, not-so-gracefully.

He hummed and let loose a long sigh, "Youths these days," he muttered lowly, trying to remain inaudible, before finally enlightening me about what he was talking about, "you will be given another life to live, but you will spend part of it helping someone who's life they won't fully be able to live due to a great loss or close ordeal with death—much like yourself in a way. I have no control over who you will help, and most likely there is a high risk of wherever you are placed will not always be completely safe as it had been previously. In simple terms, the risk is death, one where you will not be given a second chance."

There was a continuation to the thought, a slight hum as he noted how truly in disbelief and shock I really was: "but you dying will be close to none if you are careful."

My gaze was distracted as the shadows flickered along with the candlelight—could I actually do this? Would the second chance really be worth it?

I was already dead—but this was a second chance; and I had no intention to truly pass it up, "If I take this chance, will I be able to remember who I once was; how I died?"

I watched as the space of the hood where his shoulders were rose up and calmly fell—a mere shrugging gesture, I realized before I heard his raspy voice answer, "I can give you no guarantee, Ms. Flynn, and for that I am truly sorry—it will depend solely on you whether you remember or not—but judging by the display earlier, I have no doubt that your memories could return."

Completely tense for a slight second, I relaxed and heaved a weary sigh.

I took the remaining breath in, shivering as I gained the confidence to look deep into his orbless eyes.

There really wasn't any going back now.

"I accept the consequences," I murmured, "I accept your choice of a second chance."

He nodded, arm shooting out lightning quick as the scythe started to glow.

"Are you positive—once you say yes you will be given no other option but to take the second chance." He asked, sounding more serious than he had before.

"Yeah," I replied with a smile, "what's the harm in a new life? A new future? Plus, I might get to remember my old one."

He didn't respond, instead he merely nodded his head in agreement to what I said.

A minute passed—and then another—and I found myself watching closely as he snapped his fingers, the residual sound his bony hands had made caused an echo to bounce off the barren walls with force. As if it were all a part of a domino effect, the candles started to slowly burn out, making the shadows loom on the walls in a haunted scene. Death's form started to get hazier with each prolonged blink, and my breathing had turned into shuddery gasps.

I was falling into the dizzying abyss once again—a feeling of weightlessness settling in. I didn't want to go back there—go back and feel helpless.

My consciousness pushed for freedom, for bright light.

But there wasn't any escape from death's darkness.

With one last breath, I felt myself slowly start to fall; sleep overtaking me and whatever weird magic Death had used working.

"Goodbye," a voice that sounded hushed spoke through the haze, "remain careful."

_'__I hopefully will,'_ I prayed, finally feeling nothing.

**Original publish date: 10/9/14**

**Hello everyone! Like promised, here's the rewrite of the prologue.**

**To clear things up, the changes will vary in extremity—they'll either have small tweaks or different plotlines altogether.**

**All in all though, the rewrite should last only for a short time—and I do apologize to the long lasting readers I have that will have to go through the story once more.**

**Thanks for reading!**

**Any comments? Questions? Concerns? Let me know!**

**Question: What's a better way to publish my re-writed chapters.**


	2. Chapter 1: As The Rain Falls

**Summary: AU. When one dies, they don't expect to be brought back to life to help a lonely kid after a massacre. I've learned to start expecting the unexpected. (OC-centric)**

**_*All rights for the characters go to Masashi Kishimoto; except for mine of course*_**

**_Updated: 1/26/16_**

**Chapter 1**

_First person POV_

My first actual conscious thought as I woke up in the world of my second chance went along the lines of _'why is the room spinning?'_

It was a repeat of what happened only seconds before—a sense of panic, disorientation.

But this time—this time was different.

The air felt clean, fresh—there was a presence there that screamed life and energy; it was jumbled and a bit chaotic, but it was there.

I wasn't stuck in the underworld anymore—I was _living_ again.

The sheer knowledge of that almost made me forget how I was about to throw up.

Almost.

Groaning in dismay, I shifted on my side; warm face pressed against cool, cold tile. It was hot wherever I was, and that was only making matters worse.

There was also this weird smell—not foreign, but also not recognizable. It was if the walls were made out of antiseptic, the floor soaked in bleach.

'_At least it smells clean,' _I thought, rubbing my numb hands over my eyes to clear the cloudiness.

Blinking slowly as the world came into focus, I found myself blinking again—in shock this time.

"A hospital?" I questioned, slightly apprehensive and entirely not amused.

It was an ironic thought; Death putting me in a place were people go to escape the afterlife.

And yet, I couldn't help but find it comical.

_'Who knew Death had a sense of humor?'_

I willed the distracting thoughts away, instead growing tense at the fact that I was unfamiliar territory. This wasn't the world I've been accustomed to before—these were uncharted waters, and were to be treaded carefully to avoid conflict.

_'...Have I always been so cautious?'_ I briefly thought, ignoring my protesting limbs as I moved into a crouching position.

I just passed off the weird attitude as frayed nerves.

Making a move to run a hand through my tangled and knotty hair—an utterly nervous habit—I paused, eyes incredibly wide in doubt.

My arms seemed so sickly pale—_so thin, and fragile, and tiny_—that it seemed impossible that I was standing here, breathing.

That all of this wasn't just some crazy dream.

…Or nightmare, however you wanted to look at the situation.

I glanced down at myself, immediately put off at how much smaller I was—in weight and in height.

On the verge of hyperventilating again, I came to two conclusions:

I resembled a human corpse—which, technically, I _had_ been.

I was a child again—no big deal, this was _fine_—_everything_ about this was _fine_.

_'Well, isn't this just one huge disaster—and it's only been about five minutes.'_

I shuddered once again, putting away the distracting and now disturbing thoughts.

_'Focus,'_ I huffed, chilled by the frigid air and reality, _'you need to focus, Susana.'_

Death mentioned I would be placed somewhere else—another realm for all I know—to help someone. What he failed to mention, was that I was going to become a _child_ while helping this person.

Who just forgets to mention such vital information?

While keeping my attention away from how I suddenly turned eight—how was that even _possible_?—I flickered my sight back and forth through the room, trying to find something that would give me answers. _Why_ was I eight? _Why_ was I smaller? _Why_ did this have to happen?

My eyes locked on a tiny, round shaped object on the table next to the bed, and I leaped to my feet to get it.

As I bolted forwards shakily, not used to the exercise, I realized with I start that I didn't even know what I _looked_ like.

There was a new resolve—a definite subconscious decision to see my reflection for what would be the first time I could remember.

Cringing as tiny, ghostly white hands gripped the silvery edges of a tiny mirror, I raised the expensive looking piece slowly, scared of what I was about to see.

Biting my lip, I yanked my hands up, bringing my reflection to eye-level.

Wide, forest green eyes stared owlishly back at me; blinking before narrowing in calculation.

Freckles dusted across my face in an array of color, cheeks slightly gaunt and pale.

My collar bones were evidently displayed, my eyes slightly sunken in—I was like the poster child for malnutrition it seemed.

"No," I muttered, trembling, "this is _not_ happening."

I truly was a living corpse—a living _eight-year old_ corpse.

"It could be worse?" I tried, giving this a positive outlook.

A few seconds passed by, eyes still trained on my image.

_'…who am I kidding?'_

I heard a voice from outside the room, snapping me out of my internal battle. Head whirling towards the large door with horror in my eyes, I held my breath as I tried to eavesdrop.

There was a muffled, older voice—sounding kind and elderly. It was a sweet sound that was followed by much younger voices—all feminine and distant.

But now the unrecognizable conversation was getting louder—the people involved in the conversation were getting closer.

_'I'm about to get discovered!'_

My eyes travelled around the room frantically, looking for a place to hide just in case they were to walk in here. I took one step towards the bed, before stopping mid-step.

The mirror in my hand slipped, and I watched in surprise as it fell to the ground in slow motion.

I made a motion to save the silver trinket, cringing and frantically grabbing for some sort of hold on it.

But I wasn't fast enough.

The horror in my expression traveled all throughout my being, wincing as tiny, broken fragments of glass ended up pricking my foot. The shattering noise echoed around the room, the ringing noise still dead set in my ears. I stood frozen, not able to comprehend that the mirror falling had actually just _happened_.

I hadn't noticed the talking stopped until I heard louder versions of them erupt from outside the door.

Cursing inwardly, I haphazardly made a beeline for behind the hospital bed as the footfalls came closer, the doorknob shaking and turning.

Strewn out on the floor, I was trying my best to practically melt my body into the floor; painfully stiff as I peeked behind the end ledge.

I caught site of three figures, all evidently shocked and a bit apprehensive.

It was three women; all who looked as if they were nurses—well, if their yellow uniform and nurse caps were anything to go by, that is. Two out of the three looked younger, and identical at that. The only difference between them being the way their hairstyle was, one with their hair down, and one that was tied up.

The third was an older woman, one who looked to be in her mid-sixties; she wore the same uniform, and had her graying hair pinned up in a clean bun. She looked kind, and reminded me of what a stereotypical grandma looked like.

"Did you hear something," the grandmother asked, tone fretting as she glanced around, "I thought I heard someone in here."

_'Great, I scared a poor, little old lady—way to go, Flynn.'_

The two younger women shook their heads simultaneously, before one of them spotted my broken mirror and spoke up: "The mirror's broken—it must have fallen off the dresser."

"I thought this room was vacant for the time being." The grandmotherly lady mused, taking a second glance around the room.

I just sunk further into my hiding spot.

"Well, whoever was in here is gone," one of the nurses announced, while the other just nodded.

If they weren't twins, then I was going to be _really_ surprised.

"Not to mention, that when a mirror cracks, it's bad luck on whoever broke it—I'd hate to be _that_ person."

She just said that to smite me, didn't she?

"Now, now girls," the grandmother nurse spoke, smoothing her apron and sending them a kind smile, "do me a favor and get me a dustpan and broom—but before that, can you check on the young boy in room 103 for me please? Thank you."

"No problem Hana-sensei! We'll be right back!" The two of them cheered, eager, before running out the door in a hurry.

'_Sensei?'_ I asked myself_, 'where have I heard that term before?'_

"Oh dear me, I wonder what actually happened." Now deemed Hana-sensei muttered, kneeling on the ground and picking up the larger shards.

Watching her clean up my mess was starting to weigh on my conscience, and I could feel myself start to crack under the guilt.

'_Screw being cautious, the little old lady needs help.'_

I settled back on the floor, before pushing my body up to stand slowly—my joints still ached, but it wasn't as bad as before. At least I had _some_ sort of feeling in my legs.

Walking around the side of the bed, I stood facing her with a guilty look on my face, ready to apologize once she acknowledge that I was there.

A second passed, and she never looked up.

Confused, I took a step towards her, crouching down to gain her attention, "Ms. Hana-sensei?" I murmured the name foreign on my tongue.

"Yes?" she replied, still picking up shards.

She never looked up, confusing me further.

It was a natural response to a question, of course, but it wasn't exactly right. Her voice was too loud, like she was talking to someone from a distance; yet I was standing right in front of her.

"Uhm," I tried speaking up again, "I'm really sorry for dropping the mirror—I wasn't paying attention and, uh, sorta dropped it."

"Oh, it's no big deal," she started, smiling, before turning to look at the door way behind her and I, "I'm sure it wasn't on—hello?"

She was tensed, like she was really surprised that no one was standing there. Did she really not see me?

"Is anyone there?" she repeated, standing swiftly and heading straight for the door. On reflex I followed her, still confused on why she wasn't aware that I was practically standing next to her.

I was filled with a sense of dread, an idea of _why_ she wasn't seeing me nagging to be recognized.

"Hello?" she asked loudly, now standing in the middle of the hall. Her light blue eyes looked startled as they traced back and forth through the hall—never once looking straight at me.

I walked past the doorway, and into the brightly lighted hall—taking a few cautious steps toward the lady in front of me, "Uh, ma'am? I'm right—!"

I cut off midsentence as she whirled around in a panic, eyes wide and slightly confused. She was trembling—in a way that made question if there was some huge monster behind me.

Freezing, I turned around slowly; only to see and empty room.

So why was she scared?

I took a look at her eyes, just to see exactly what she was staring at that made her freak out—at to my horror, I realized something. She didn't see something that scared her—it was more of what she _didn't_ see.

Her eyes were on me, I recognized, _but she wasn't seeing me._

_'No,'_ I thought, eyes stinging, _'out of all things—_no_.'_

My eyes started to sting as I carefully wove myself away from her, barreling into a brightly lit hallway. I wasn't entirely focused, breathing irregular and eyes blurred—my concentration just wasn't there.

Avoiding running into thoughtful doctors and fretting nurses, I didn't even _want_ to think about what would happen if I did make contact with them.

My frantic thoughts became so loud in my head that I didn't care where I was running anymore—I was aching—I was invisible—I was a _freak_.

I just wanted to go home; wherever _home_ was.

Death didn't explain this part. Nor did he tell me who I was supposed to risk my second chance at life for. How was I even supposed to help this person if I wasn't even _visible_?

I was still running, but now the halls were getting more barren. Rubbing furiously at my eyes—because crying was childish, and I was _not_ a _child __despite my appearance—choked down the sob that threatened to make itself known._

_There were a few more steps—shaky and uncoordinated, might I add—before I found my pathway blocked, and my body sent backtracking towards the floor._

'_Well, that hurt,'_ I thought, groaning into my arms_, 'what did I even hit?'_

A similar sound of pain not too far away caused me to snap my eyes open, and I peeked from underneath my arms.

There was a boy in the exact same situation as me on the floor, black hair tousled and dark clothes stained.

He looked up, a slight glare and confusion in his expression.

I noted just how young he looked—but his eyes told a different story. They held true horrors—they saw something that should've never been seen.

There were dark circles under his onyx eyes as well, indicating just how worn and tired he really was.

I faintly felt a strong _pull—_a brief click that made it seem like something fell into place.

Shocked, my stare hardened.

_That_ wasn't normal—none of this was—but that was _definitely_ was a clear sign of not being a coincidence.

Making another groan—more for complaining purposes this time—I pushed myself off the ground, and into a sitting position. I was just about to open my mouth to apologize, but the words died in my throat.

Would he even be able to see me?

Shutting my eyes before they could start stinging again, I made a move to stand up; stopping only when I saw him sit up with a wince, quickly reaching for his arm.

"Are you ok?" I blurted before I could stop myself, scooting a little closer to him as I reached my hand out.

Watching in shock as he opened his eyes—forest green meeting deep onyx obsidian—I saw him stare directly at me as he nodded his head suspiciously.

Frozen, I stared in disbelief.

'_He can see me,'_ my mind screamed, _'he can see me!'_

I stared at him a little longer, before zoning out completely. I copied his suspicion, pinpointed his features in slight confusion.

_Why_ does he look so familiar?

A faint rush of dull memories hit me suddenly, all too quick and too jumbled to be actually comprehended. I pressed my hand to my head before I could help myself. Biting my lip, I bit back the instinctive groan that usually followed with pain.

"Did you hit your head or something?" he asked, somewhat inquisitively—yet the underlining tone of bluntness was still there.

"A-ah, no," I muttered, clearing my throat, puzzled and a bit frazzled, "it's just that you look familiar for one thing—and you can _see_ me. Like actually see me, unlike that one woman in the other room—Hana-sensei was her name, I think. Anyway, you can see me; which is odd, because the coincidence is—?"

He cut me off mid-babble—giving me a strange look.

Fidgeting, I sighed, running a hand through my hair, "Look kid—today's been absolute hell. I apparently just died on the wrong date—got brought back without any clue of who I am—and now apparently have to abide by the rules of serving as a helper to someone who has it worse than me; I'm completely invisible to everyone except you weirdly, and I have no idea where I am—spare me, ok?"

I met his eyes again, taking note of the apparent doubt of my explanation,

"You don't believe me," I deadpanned, feeling deflated

His eyes betrayed his impassive face, and could tell I hit the nail on the head.

He could tell too, and he sighed.

"I _don't_ believe you," he clarified, shifting to stand up, "for now anyway."

Immediate relief washed over me, and a tiny smile graced my lips in gratitude.

If he hadn't believed me, I doubt I'd be able to find another person who could see me.

I looked up when he got to his feet, watching as he paced quickly before heading for an exit.

Furrowing my eyebrows, I launched up myself, trying to catch up, "Hey! Wait up!"

"I need to go—_now_," he spoke, looking as if he suddenly realized something incredibly important.

He zoomed off once more, his run turning into full-fledged sprinting.

Gasping and out of breath, I stared bug-eyed at the boy, "Slow down! What's wrong—uhm—!"

He halted abruptly, standing tense at the edge of a corner.

Stumbling to a stop, I steadied myself quickly, struggling for air as I nearly plowed into him—_again_.

"Sasuke." He stated simply, cautiously peering at the space behind the wall.

Bewildered, I narrowed my eyes, "Uh, What?"

He sighed in exasperation, eyes still holding that twinge of something being horribly wrong, "My name—it's Sasuke."

Blinking, I nodded dumbly—absentmindedly what kind of name was _Sasuke._

"My name's Susana," I greeted, light smile on my face as I watched his eyes connect with mine.

A question along the same lines as mine before passed through his gaze, and I found myself childishly pouting.

_'My name is perfectly normal,'_ I internally huffed, _'and he dares to question that with a name like his own?'_

"Yeah," a feminine voice from around the corner broke into the silence, agreeing with whoever they were talking to, "that's what I heard too."

I now realized the reason for his sudden halt, sharing a brief glance with him once more as we crept closer to listen.

"That boy was the only one who survived the massacre," she continued, sounding heartbroken.

I noticed Sasuke visibly tense, now listening in with his fists clenched tightly at his sides.

'_Could they be..?'_

"Someone said they think he has an older brother, is that right?" a new voice spoke up, sounding like I've heard it before.

I walked passed a now wide eyed Sasuke, giving him a reassuring glance as I stepped ahead of him and practically in front of the nurses—who didn't notice—and turned to see the same two twin-like nurses from before.

_'Ha, if he didn't believe me before, he should believe me now.'_

Shifting my glance back to Sasuke, I noticed how his wide eyes were distant, as if remembering something.

The two women kept talking.

"Yeah, he does—but no one knows where he is right now." The girl wearing her hair tied up explained, clutching at the clipboard she was carrying.

"Awe" the second lady sympathized with the first, eyes getting soft.

I made a move to say something, but I paused after I saw him clenching his teeth, eyebrows furrowed in annoyance.

'_They're talking about him,' _I realized, _'and he looks ready to snap.'_

Neither nurse heard him though, and continued gossiping, "I can't believe it, that the elite Uchiha clan could just be—!"

I didn't understand why she had paused until I turned, watching as Sasuke trudged dazedly forward, bangs kept hovered over his eyes.

'_Uchiha…why does that sound familiar?'_

He was nearly at the end of the hall despite how slowly he was walking, and I made a dash towards him before he could exit through the front hospital doors.

I met up with him right as he took one step out of the building, nudging him with my shoulder.

The look he gave me in reply was chilling, and so helplessly lost, that it took all my willpower not to shy away.

"Let's go," I whispered, staring directly into his eyes, "wherever you need to go, I'm going too—so _let's_ _go_."

"What? Why—?"

"Sasuke Uchiha," I stated, testing out the name on my tongue—trying hard to ignore its foreignness—and giving him a look, "_I have no idea what's going on here—I have no idea why I am here; but I can only assume you being able to see me when no one else can was far from being coincidence. So wherever you're going, I'm going_."

My stern speech worked for whatever reason unknown to me, and he nodded; speeding off towards the street in a frantic hurry.

'_Why must it always resort to running?'_ I mentally complained as my legs protested with the fast pace_, 'my body can't take this for much longer.'_

Albeit my apparent dislike for running, I still kept up at his brisk pace, not wanting to get left behind.

I knew now for certain that he was the person I was supposed to help—he was the only one who could see me, _and_ had a great loss and close ordeal with death.

Just like Death himself had mentioned.

The streets we ran in seemed somber, almost to the point where everyone seemed like they couldn't function. The lanterns that filled the space overhead were all dimly lit, the markets and street vendors all seemed weary and drained, and the people passing by us seemed to move in a zombie-like trance. The weirdest part was how everyone snapped out of there stupor right as Sasuke passed, all locking there gazes on him and whispering—all the while giving him a sympathetic look.

If Sasuke noticed this behavior, he never showed it. Instead he was gazing straight ahead, eyes set on their target—his home.

The clouds in the sky seemed to reflect on the people's and Sasuke's mood, turning dark and gray and moving at a fast pace.

I didn't notice that our running had started to slow, too mesmerized by all the colorful buildings with signs that weren't legible—was that _kanji_?—that I had to force myself to stop abruptly before I ran into Sasuke for the millionth time.

Sucking in heaps of oxygen, I placed my hands on my knees, trying to catch my breath—glaring daggers at the boy in front of me for looking mostly unaffected.

I let up my glare when he too had to take deep gasps of air, and breathed deeply before standing up straight.

"Is this…?" I trailed off, walking forward and pulling at the yellow police tape.

"Yes." He replied curtly, looking on with furrowed eyebrows at the entrance. My gaze lingered on the two decorative paintings of a single red and white fan, before my mind clicked.

The Uchiha _clan_.

The _Uchiha_ massacre.

_Sasuke_. _Uchiha_.

'_No,'_ I thought mentally, eyes as wide as saucers_, 'out of all the things…'_

'_Death sent me to an _anime_ world. And to make it _worse_—he had me help one of the main characters.'_

I sucked in a breath, lump forming in my throat—this place was dangerous. The person walking over and underneath the tape in front of me is dangerous. Why, out of all the places, was I sent _here_?

Was _here_ even a real _place_?

As if on cue, a flash of something that I saw in the hospital hit me, a whirlwind or information about this place filling my memory; a picture, of a girl and two other boys all sitting on a floor together, huddled in the dark with loud laughter in the air. Bags of chips were strewn across the floor, and CD's laid everywhere. The three kids were all sat next to each other, arms and limbs thrown across one another like it didn't matter. The two boy's looked older than the girl, and on top of that, identical. Despite that, they were all doing the same thing—watching a small screen.

_"C'mon!"_ the twins shouted in unison, mischievous smile lighting their faces, _"just one more episode! We know you want to finish the season too!"_

Squinting at the screen, I realized what is was.

_Naruto_.

The picture became clearer, as were the people—within seconds the color intensified, then faded, and I was left standing by the police tape once again, staring at the back of the boy in front of me.

'_There's no doubt,'_ I thought, _'the girl in the picture was me.'_

"Sana," Sasuke hissed, impatient, "hurry up."

'_And this place is actually real.'_

Doing a double take at the thought and at the new pronunciation of my name—because where had _that_ come from—I climbed over the police tape, careful as to not rip it—still thinking about the picture I saw.

Was that small memory my answer for why I was here? And for my past?

'_Think about that later, Susana. There are more important things happening More definite things.'_

Just as I finished reprimanding myself—as weird yet slightly normal that was—the sky darkened further, letting off a rumbling noise; seemingly picking up further on Sasuke's mood.

He was found staring distantly at the places and shops around him, watching some as if he could still see the people standing there, talking to him and asking him questions. His mood picked up slightly, but came crashing down once reality set in; all he had now were just memories—the people from before were gone.

The sky rumbled once again, and the smell of blood and death became even stronger, seeming as though the smell alone was taunting us in a messed up way.

I kept glancing at him and he walked in front of me—still unnerved, distant. He reminded me of a sponge, able to absorb the damage but not process it completely. He looked weary, and I knew I should probably say or do something to make him feel better.

But what does one say to another when their entire _clan_ dies? At the hands of the one closest to you as well?

I understood death—I went through it—but the death of people closest to you was something I wouldn't comprehend—or remember, that is.

I opened my mouth to say something, but the words died in my throat—rain had started to fall. It fell one drop at a time at first, before spilling over completely.

Picking up my hair and placing it over my shoulder, I glanced brokenly at how the rain didn't even affect Sasuke at all; he kept on walking, hands placed in his pockets, and his face downcast.

He paused slightly, turning to stare over at the wall beside him. I followed his gaze, looking at the large Uchiha fan painted on the wall, and noticed the large crack there was in it.

'_Didn't Itachi cause that?'__I fleetingly thought, random scenes of the show replaying in my mind._

By the way his hands clenched, and he whipped his head forward, I would say that I was right.

He pressed on, still walking as if in a trance—and I followed, still not sure how to respond. I rubbed the rain off my face with one quick swipe of my hand, before wringing out the bottom of my shirt. The rain was starting to come down more rapidly, making it harder to see.

_'Some of the things here aren't meant to be seen anyway.'_

A loud sound of something being opened brought my attention back to Sasuke, who was opening the door of what I thought to be what used to be his house. He stepped pass a huge, red umbrella and the large plants by the side wall, looking stiff and shaky along the way. Once inside, he turned his head briefly, eyes locking onto mine as a silent message to walk in.

Before I could respond, he turned his head back around, taking off his shoes and walking forward into a dark and haunted looking hallway.

It was his way of saying that it was ok that I was here—that it was ok to know the things that he knew.

And that thought seemed abnormal to me.

I swiftly ran inside, wringing out my stained and wrinkled shirt once more and closing the door before following after him.

I would have taken off my shoes, but I didn't have any on—so I ignore it and brushed more hair over my shoulder and out of my face. I was practically walking on his heels now, feeling the eerie aura the hall was giving off. It wasn't a pleasant experience, but I pushed forward, watching silently at how many memories were making Sasuke suffer.

He trudged a bit farther, turning the corner to a porch on the outside of the house. The wood was stained with water, mini puddles filling in the small dents of the floor boards. It looked serene past the wooden rails, but it was far from the actual truth.

I slowed down a little so that he had some room to process and think, and instead focused on how he made footprints on the wood as he walked. The footprints slowed somewhat, and I looked up to see him staring at the space in front of him, before looking down once more.

'_Death, what did you just get me involved in?'_

The walkway on the porch led up to an opening in the way—which I later realized was another room in the complex—and Sasuke turned to walk in, yet paused as his eyes became distant once again.

He was smiling slightly, and could tell he was thinking of one of his parents. When his eyes refocused, the smile dropped altogether, and I knew that I had to do something before it was never seen on his face again.

Mustering up some courage, I grabbed his hand from his side, and ignored the shocked look on his face; instead I smiled reassuring, and tightened my grip.

He opened his mouth to reply, but was cut off when a loud noise crashed from somewhere in the other room.

Both of us swiveled our heads towards the direction from where it came from with two very different reactions—mine being suspicious and scared, and Sasuke's being hopeful and anticipative.

"Mom?" he called out hesitantly, running full speed towards the room and almost literally dragging me behind him.

I jumped over the few items on the floor, and avoided running into the wall as he yanked me forward; my hand clenched tightly in his so I wouldn't lose balance and fall on my face.

I made a choked noise and stumbled as he made a grab at the door, flinging it open with ease and running through. His expression wasn't readable from where I was angled at, so I couldn't really make out what he was thinking. Feeling my fingers start to ache, I looked down to see his hand tightly grasping mine—a completely unaware gesture on his part—and resigned to the fact that my hand was going to fall off.

A loud, low, and down-right creepy cat-like noise came from ten feet in front of where we stood, yellow eyes peering back at us and illuminating when the lightning flashed.

I _'eeped'_, eyes widening from surprise, and jolted to take a step back—the hair on the back of my neck standing up.

When the lightning flash resided, I breathed a sigh of relief, but tensed when I felt Sasuke let go of my hand.

Bringing my attention back to him, I noticed how fast he had switched from hopeful to melancholy. His shoulders sagged as he watched the cat jump from the window and out into the rain, taking off without a look back.

He tore his attention off of the window and the doorway that stood across the room—placing his right foot forward and began the trance-like walk once again towards it.

I remained where I stood, watching with longing—it was my job to help him—it's basically the _only_ reason that I was here right now—yet I didn't know how.

'_Be there for him,' _I thought instantly, staring at his back before it disappeared into the room, _'he's going to need all the human contact he can get with everyone gone.'_

Moving around the table and dashing quickly into and through the doorway, I ran straight to his side, grabbing his attention for a split second before it turned distant once again.

'_There's still at least some hope.'_

He walked through the bedroom doorway before I did, pausing and staring down at the floor with mixed emotions. I paused too, staring down with horror at the taped out outlines of his parents bodies.

What made it worse was the blood was still in splatters on the floor, now brown due to how long it's sat there.

I felt a surge of anger run through me, teeth clenched and shoulders tight, _'there's no reason for that to be left there—shinobi village or not, that's just basic human compassion.'_

Outside, the rain kept pouring vigorously—lightning and thunder raging and flashing with vengeance, and seemingly lighting up the room in haunted and eerie shadows.

Closing my eyes, I mustered up my courage for the second time today, and turned to face the close to tears boy. "Sasuke," I murmured, speaking up for the first time in a while, and placed a hand on his shoulder. He turned to me in question, eyes watery and bleary.

I captured the image in my mind, feeling ready to break down and cry with him. From this point on, things were different—he would go on this path of an avenger if I didn't stop him.

But I will—I will stop that from happening. No matter the cause.

I had a duty to this boy—and that duty started with five simple words:

"You're going to be alright."

He would make it through this—he wouldn't cave.

Maybe it was what I had said, or the whole event in general, but a few tears leaked out of the corners of his eyes, rolling off of his cheeks and falling to the floor.

And just like the rain, one after the other poured out.

As he slumped to the floor, crying silently over the outline of his dead parent's bodies, I sat next to him, clutching his hand in reassurance.

And together we sat in the dark, waiting for tomorrow to come and to make this day end.

**I apologize for the long wait; and thank you all for being generous and following/favoriting/reviewing.**

**Hopefully the second edited chapter will be finished soon enough; if there's any questions, comments, concerns, feel free to let me know!**

**I, once again, apologize to all of my previous readers who have to re-read this once more; thank you for your patience!**

**I want to make Sana's character less naïve and more calculating—only so I can have major development and cool abilities for later on; I also plan to make most of the interactions between her and Sasuke different, and make Sasuke more believable in general.**

**Thanks for reading!**

…

**Question: Any ideas I should add to the re-write?**


	3. Chapter 2: Change for the Better

**Summary: AU. When one dies, they don't expect to be brought back to life to help a lonely kid after a massacre. I've learned to start expecting the unexpected. (OC-centric)**

**_*All rights for the characters go to Masashi Kishimoto; except for mine of course*_**

**Chapter 2**

_First Person POV_

Clicking noises resounded throughout the room—strikingly loud and clear as the sound echoed off the walls.

Mumbling incoherently as I managed to peak a blurry eye open, I caught a glimpse of high ceilings and pale furniture.

I noted subconsciously how oddly clean everything was—and a distinct odor that was present seemed to only linger.

I didn't recognize these surroundings—and maybe I _should_ have been a bit alarmed by that fact—by my head felt so heavy.

I was being lulled into sleep before my mind could even register it—but yet, I wouldn't have minded either way.

To my utter sleepy dismay, the clicks continued:

Weird sorts of shuffling replaced the clicks—strangely sounding like fabric—and then total silence.

I was perfectly ready to take full advantage of the newfound quiet—so ready that I even started to drift off into unconsciousness for a second time.

That was, until, realization sunk in that I had no idea where I was.

Groaning—because I _had_ to get up now—I blinked both eyes open this time; yawning loudly and uncontrollably.

Pushing myself to my feet, I cringed at the numb feeling in my arms and legs.

I was shaky, bitterly cold, and undeniably confused as well.

Sighing deeply, I furrowed my eyebrows, steadily getting a headache from trying to remember what distinctly happened in detail.

"I died," I muttered first, rubbing my temples, recalling everything in a babble, "I died and forgot everything—I got sent here—whatever dimension this is considered—by the grim reaper to help prevent utter destruction."

Taking a breath, I nodded to myself, peaking around once more.

"Now the question is, how did I end up in the living room?" I murmured, staring pointedly at the furnishings around me.

My legs carried me towards the entrance of the hall before I stopped dead still, eyes watering and nose crinkling at the smell that hit my senses as soon as I walked through.

"Oh my god," I whispered, holding my nose in slight anxiousness and slight disgust as I looked around, "what _is_ that."

Treading further blindly without any knowledge of where I was going, I followed the direction of that smell.

But as I continued, it seemed as the smell was essentially everywhere—that, or my nose was practically useless.

A sudden feeling of stickiness encased my foot, and I flinched so violently I almost fell over.

Horrified, I stared down at my foot, biting my lip to prevent myself from screaming at the sight of the red that trailed along the bottom of it.

I knew what that smell was now.

It was the smell of _blood_.

Swiftly turning to the door where it originated, I opened it to see tape outlined humanoid shapes.

And all at once, details I failed to recount filled my mind.

A _huge_ massacre just happened.

The _same_ massacre that just so happens to be the starting point of said destruction mentioned previously.

_Sasuke Uchiha_ was the person I was sent to directly help—and just _my_ luck—I realized he was nowhere to be found.

Physically, I may be a shell of an eight year old girl—but mentally, I was still fifteen; and when a child suddenly just vanishes, that initiates the alarm bells to go off.

Especially when said child had capabilities that could either cause him to get abducted, or worse—cause destruction.

Instincts of 'I need to find him because what if something happened' kick in, and I'm already halfway down the hallway—sticky red foot and all.

I hesitate to call out his name—what if he was taken by kidnappers and they were still here?

What if they also kidnapped me?

Breathing deeply so I didn't hyperventilate—because _anything_ could've happened to him—I walked closer to the end of the hall, peeking past it with apprehension.

No one was there.

I started quickening my pace. Walking a little farther into the quiet complex, I managed to get my shaky self to the front door within seconds.

The only reason I was here—and not dead—was because of that boy; there was a sense of responsibility now.

In simpler terms: if I failed, I would never forgive myself.

My eye caught something white hanging off of the front door, and I immediately perked up and grabbed.

The first thing I thought as I plucked it off the door was along the lines of it being a ransom note.

To my utter disbelief, it was _worse_.

Yes, it was a note—but it was a note in a completely different language.

Meaning I had no idea what the hell it was.

By now, I actually _was_ hyperventilating.

Fingers shaking, I dropped the note on the floor, before forming possible rescue plans in my head.

I wasn't strong physically—right now, I couldn't even hold a brick without my arm shaking from exertion—but if I could outsmart anyone in any way possible, I would.

Swinging the sliding door open with narrowed eyes and a look of fierce determination—because I was going to find what the heck just happened whether I wanted to or not—I gained a step outside before I ran into something solid.

Bouncing quickly off the mass, I fell with a loud thump onto the ground behind me.

Cringing at the aching feeling that raced up my spine, I looked up, eyes popping out of their sockets

Shocked green met confused and haughty onyx, and I mentally breathed a sigh of relief at how Sasuke was _here_, and _not_ in some evil person's clutches.

I saw his lips pursed, as if he wanted to say something, but I beat him to it:

"I was looking for you," I stated, pushing myself to my feet, "I thought you had been kidnapped."

He narrowed his eyes, and I shrunk back a bit at the glint in them.

"I left a note," he stated dryly, referring to the paper lying on the floor.

I visibly paled, avoiding all eye contact.

I did _not_ want him to know that I couldn't read in his language—god, the mortification that would bring—but it was hopeless.

This kid had a sharp intellect, despite his young age—he could but the pieces together.

And he did—much to my dismay.

"_You can't read?"_ he asked, and I flushed a bright crimson.

"Of course I can read," I huffed, crossing my arms, "just…not your language. Where I come from, we read and write in _English_—which is a completely different alphabet altogether."

"You're speaking it though," he smartly pointed out, faced confused.

My expression matched his, and I furrowed my eyebrows in thought, "I guess I am—maybe Death figured I need to be able to speak the language in order to understand you? I'm not sure of his intentions really."

I heard him grunt, before he crossed both his arms, eyes suddenly accusing.

"Do you remember what I said in the hospital?" he asked, eyes still defiantly suspicious.

I nodded, noting briefly the dark circles that still were around his eyes.

He suddenly didn't look eight years old in my opinion—he seemed much older with the attitude change.

And I wasn't exactly sure if I liked it or not.

"You said a lot of things in the hospital," I snarked, trying to get him back to an expression that looked more normal on him.

There was an eye roll, but no expression change—if anything, his face hardened even further, "I mentioned that I didn't believe you—and I want to know why I _should_."

Taken aback, I blinked, face entirely blank.

I found myself unable to explain—how do you explain my situation?

It's not believable in the slightest, but it happened. It happened, and I'm living proof.

But would that be enough?

Meeting his waiting eyes, I patted the spot next to me, urging him to sit.

He looked hesitant, as if he didn't trust me enough to actually sit next to me.

It was my turn to roll my eyes.

"I'm not going to bite Sasuke—sit down," I spoke, raising an eyebrow as he did so, just a distance away from me.

_'__Boys,'_ I huffed internally, eye twitching.

Taking a deep breath, I nervously twiddled my fingers, shifting where I sat.

"My situation," I started in a slow, hushed tone, "well, it isn't the easiest thing to grasp fully—I don't even understand a few things myself."

There was a short silence, in which birds flew by and wind fluttered through.

"Try me," he commanded, looking eager to know the truth.

Taken aback, I nodded, gaze still rested on the flying birds.

"For starters, where I'm from, well, it's another dimension," came the whimsical sentence, a far look in my eyes, "I remember parts of it—but not the fine details. When I died, my memories died along with me. It was mentioned that it's up to me to get my memories, but I have no idea how to even start that process."

"So your…dead and can't remember anything?" he asked, looking at me up and down with a strange expression.

I almost smiled at how innocent the look seemed.

"I _was_ dead," I stated, pulling some strands of hair from my face, "my death occurred on the wrong date, though—according to the grim reaper; so I was given a second chance. But the second chance had a cost—I was sent here to help someone who had to deal with a worse hardship than my own and save them. My second chance is giving another a second chance, I guess you could say."

Recognition fluttered through his dark eyes, the scowl almost completely vanished from his face, "and you believe that person is me."

"Well, duh. Who else do you know who recently went through the worse thing imaginable _and_ can see me?"

I flinched as I realized how blatantly I mentioned the death of his clan—immediately ready to backtrack if possible.

His expression grew tense, but I found that he swallowed back those memories before I could mention apologies.

"I see; but still, why are you invisible? And what are you trying to save me _from_?" He asked, voice grave and eyes intense.

Biting my lip, I shook my head slightly, "I have no idea why I'm invisible—I'd ask Death, but I also don't know how to contact him. And as for the saving you part…well, I know how your life plays out—not all the details of course, but the main picture. Things in the future aren't the very best, but if I can change things somehow, maybe they could be."

I saw his shoulders grow tense, and the weird look on his pale face, but I just sighed briefly.

"You think this all sounds crazy," I murmured, a small smile on my thin face, "trust me, I think it does too—but it's our realities now—and I'm sorry to say, but we're stuck with each other now."

I noticed his own expression grow less intense, a weird sort of smirk on his features, "Just don't get in my way."

Eyes wide, I spluttered, unable to believe the quick attitude change.

I was shaken out of my stupor by the loud sound of chiming bells—all distant and echoing.

I wouldn't have paid it any more attention if it hadn't been for the way Sasuke visibly grew paler and silent.

"Are you ok?" I questioned, eyebrows furrowed at the strange way he was acting.

He jumped to his feet, snatching my free hand and pulling me up with him.

Then he broke into a full out sprint.

Bewildered, I ran after him, limbs protesting and mind jumbled.

"Wait!" I yelled, huffing and panting as I reached his side, "what's going on?!"

"The school bell," he stated, trying to hide his horror, "I have five minutes to get there before I'm late."

Realization struck as we made our way out of the compound gates, and onto the dusty streets of Konohagakure.

I may not remember school—but I remembered enough to know that if you're late, only trouble resulted.

"Run for it!" I practically shouted, racing just to keep up with his insane pace.

I was going to regret my decision to follow him in the nearing future.

* * *

The final bell rung loudly over head as Sasuke hurried into the front classroom door and to his seat. I was a few paces behind him, currently gasping for air and clutching my side.

_'__Stupid running,'_ I thought childishly, hobbling over to where he sat. Giving him a glance over, I realized he was barely even out of breath.

_'__Correction; stupid ninja skills.'_

He gave me the briefest of glances himself, before scooting the tiniest bit over so I could at least sit.

"Oh how _sweet_—I get to sit on the _corner_ of the chair." I grumbled quietly, making sure no one really heard anything. By the scowl I was receiving, Sasuke had.

Truth be told, I was grumpier after running here—more or so due to how many times I tripped, or maybe due to the fact that my running skills were nothing compared to Sasuke's.

I had no endurance—my recent shift from fifteen to eight being the cause.

My body wasn't used to physical strain—and by the fact that my limbs were practically sticks, I could tell they wouldn't be used to it anytime soon.

And that was a problem.

"You know," he quietly whispered, not even glancing my way but directing the question at me nonetheless, "you really need to work on your stamina."

Staring at him long and hard, I repressed the twitch that was making its way onto my face, and settled for ignoring him entirely.

I would not be baited into an argument—no matter how that comment got under my skin.

Sighing, I rested my hand on my palm, opting to stare out the window.

_'__He's right,' _I thought, watching trained ninja jumping from roof to roof to get to the places they needed throughout the city, _'I should start training up my stamina.'_

Turning to peak through my hair at Sasuke's impassive face, I sighed and closed my eyes.

_'__Especially if I'm going to be living in a place like this from now on.'_

"Good morning class," a chipper voice announced, causing me to open my eyes suddenly and stare forward—eyes widening even more in recognition to who belonged to the voice.

"Good morning Iruka-sensei" everyone chimed back, excluding the few who ranged from silent, asleep, to uncaring.

Iruka looked much like he had in the anime—green flak jacket, ponytail, a scar across his nose—so I knew nothing was really far from the original plot of the story.

My mind wandered slightly as the chuunin begin his lesson, scanning the surrounding people around the room. There were some that I recognized—that being the original rookie nine—and others that I didn't.

I tried to pinpoint where most of the main characters were, but I couldn't see much from where I sat.

One thing I did notice was the collected stares that were directed in this direction, all being from mostly the girl population. Quirking an eyebrow, I followed their heart-shaped gaze and had to cover my hand to keep myself from laughing at who it was.

Sasuke discretely looked at me, questioning mentally what my problem was. Smiling wider, I gestured behind him at his star-struck fans.

I had forgotten about his fan girls—and boy, was this new piece of knowledge going to be fun to exploit.

He made the mistake of acknowledging the girls by looking, and an onslaught of about a dozen squeals resounded among the group in response.

I've never seen someone turn around so quickly with a look of utter horror

Snickering slightly at his reaction—because it was truly and undeniably hilarious—I turned back to the front of the room as Iruka finally stopped shushing the giggling fan-girls.

"Ahem, as I was saying, the Land of Fire has been in trade with—!"

As he droned on, I placed my head in my hand, and sighed quietly.

It was going to be a long day.

* * *

"_Sana_," someone whispered beside me, nudging my shoulder with little force, "get up."

I made a tiny noise of acknowledgement before almost drifting back to sleep once again, sinking deeper into my mind.

There was a quiet sigh followed shortly after and some shuffling, but everything stilled grew quiet once more.

Absolutely sure whatever nuisance had left, I was just about to finally fall back asleep when a sharp pain erupted from my arm. Eyes flying wide in shock and pain, I hissed and clutched at my bruised appendage lightly. Looking up, I frowned, not recognizing where I was.

Why were there so many desks? And was that a _chalkboard_?

I heard a noise along the lines of impatience, and swiveled my head in the direction the noise came from. My gaze landed on that of an exasperated Sasuke, hands stuffed in the pockets of his white shorts moodily and scowl present on his face.

_'__He pinched me, didn't he?'_

Sheepishly smiling at being caught sleeping, I glanced behind me to the rest of the space, wondering why so many kids were missing. This was a school, right?

Memories and snippets of early today resurfaced, and I remembered that of lectures from Iruka and drifting in and out of conscious due to boredom. Pursing my lips, I realized it didn't answer my previous question as to why everyone suddenly disappeared.

"Ah, Sasuke," I asked, turning back to look at him for an answer, "why—?"

"Lunchtime," was his blunt reply, before he started to stalk off towards the door.

Making an indignant noise in the back of my throat, I shot up from my seat, scrambling to follow him out the door.

If no one else that actually went to the academy was in the classroom, than I, who isn't even enrolled, wasn't going to be either.

I ran down the corner of the hall just as he disappeared around it, and made an abrupt stop so I didn't smack into the random desk by the crook of the wall. Bypassing it, I took quick steps and finally reached him as we both walked out the front doors.

The silence from the inside of the building was quickly replaced by contagious noise from the outside. Staring around with slight awe, multiple sounds of laughter, hollering kids, and chattering friends attacked my ears. As I stared around the medium sized length of the playing field, bits and pieces of a playground the seemed familiar snapped in and out of focus.

I tried to concentrate on the small memory, but the train of thought was lost when a stray ball hit the side of my head.

Snapping my head sideways during impact, I stayed that way for a second in shock before grouchily rubbing at the side—muttering a low string of curses under my breath.

_'__Well, ow.'_

A small snort made me look forward at an amused Sasuke, who tried to hide his laughter.

"Shut up," I murmured moodily, still rubbing my head. I was oddly surprised by the freedom of laughter that came from him, but it was pleasing to know he wasn't so far gone.

_'__I still have a chance to save him.'_

He smirked slightly, walking forward casually, "you definitely can tell you had no ninjas from where you came from."

_'__Or maybe not.'_

Taking a small breath, I full-out ignored his little jab, choosing instead to follow him over to the fence where he was headed towards.

Stuffing my hands pockets, I slumped against the metallic fence, sliding down it and finally sitting once more. Running a hand through my hair, I made a promise mentally to ask Sasuke where the nearest shower was after school was over.

Tilting my neck to look at a still slightly amused yet aloof Sasuke sitting beside me, I noticed his face starting to morph into a general impassive expression.

Taking my gaze away from him for a moment, I stared back into the crowd of children; one single thought hitting me as I scrutinized each one:

They're all going to become killers one day, fighting for their lives and that of the village's.

And that in itself is a scary thought.

Some of them are still so young, and some have little to none training at all.

_'__Do they even know what they're getting into?'_

Sasuke's face crossed my mind for a split second, and I realized that he'd become one of the most notorious killer among them all in the future.

_'__You can prevent it,'_ a voice whispered in the back of my mind, _'you can stop it from happening that way.' _

And for the first time since I've been here, I realized that I _could_. I could prevent him from becoming even lonelier, more hate-filled.

Is this what Death meant when he said help?

_'__I won't be helping just him—I'd help everyone else in the process.'_

All the rookies.

The civilians. The village.

_Everyone_.

Breathing in deeply, I glanced at the slightly scowling boy next to me, eyes distant as if in thought—but by the hard glint in his eye, it was easy to tell what he was thinking of.

He was ready to accept the mentality to get revenge.

And as much as I don't want to mess anything up, he deserves to be happy.

Before I could say anything to him though, something yellow flashed in the corner of my eye, and I turned my head to see what it was.

I took notice of a blonde-haired kid holding a ball, clear, crystal blue eyes staring directly at Sasuke with mixed emotions.

_'__He looks familiar.'_

"Sasuke," I piped up, speaking for the first time in a long time, "who's that kid?"

He followed my pointed finger, and sighed when the kid that was staring got hit in the head with a ball just like I did moments before.

_'__Ha, so even ninjas get hit in the face with dodge balls.'_

The blonde boy had taken off angrily after the offender with the ball, and I smirked evilly in my mind, cheering the boy on one hundred percent.

_'__Serves that other kid right.'_

_"_That's just Naruto—he's the dead last of the class, and a real annoyance." He muttered, eyes closed with a sour look on his face.

Eyes bulging in shock, I turned back around to face the rampaging blonde once more.

_'__So this is the person who becomes the hero of Konoha?'_

Watching him a bit more closely now, I mentally face palmed—it was a little more obvious now who he was. For heaven's sake, he even has the whiskers.

"How come you don't befriend him," I asked, mentally encouraging him to make friends with his future teammate.

"He's a dobe," he stated, as if it was clear enough why.

Sighing, I rubbed a hand down my face, wondering why Death sent me to one of the most stubborn person in existence.

"You need to open up more." Was all I said, choosing to direct my thoughts and line of sight to the sky.

"Hn."

Ah, there's the famous word making its way in the spotlight once again.

Gradually after our small conversation on 'befriending people', everyone's voices started to die down, the chatter and other off-topic conversations becoming slowly hushed. Glancing around, I took notice of each person starting to eat lunch, and I looked over at Sasuke expectantly.

He gave me a flat stare, before raising his eyebrows. "What," he asked, sounding confused.

Turning to talk to him better, I rested my head against the metal fence behind me, "how come you don't have a lunch? Did you make one?"

His response sounded dull, and I winced at how lifeless it was, "I have no one to make it for me."

Choking—because come on Sana, that was obvious—I swallowed the lump in my throat, smacking myself for bringing up a bad topic.

_'__Wonderful choice of words,'_ I grouched at myself.

Giving a look to everyone around me, all eating and talking at the same time, an idea popped into my head.

"Hey," I muttered, turning back to look at him. He shifted his gaze to me in question, and I took it as an invite to keep talking, "how about I make you a lunch? I'll be living with you for a while, so why not? I mean, if it's ok—that I can make you a lunch and live with you?"

He was silent for a minute, and I worried that he would react coldly. So imagine my surprise when he nodded, a small glimpse of warmth in his eyes.

"Yeah, I would like that."

* * *

After the bell had rung, I found myself following the large group of kids inside with a rather impassive Sasuke beside me, fending off masses of drooling girls.

The herd of children all disappeared into different rooms and me and Sasuke into our own.

There was only five minutes of chatter and side-taking before Iruka walked into the classroom once more, still chipper despite it being almost four hours since the school day started.

"Alright everyone, who can tell me what the key factor for using ninjutsu is?" Iruka asked the class, pacing back and forth between the aisles of desks.

From where I sat—on the corner of the seat and by the window—I saw some hands go up, all ranging from different kids. One hand stood out, raised high and strong, eager to answer the question.

Blinking, I realized that hand belonged to Sakura, wearing a red bow in her bright pink locks.

_'__Ino must've befriended her already.'_

"Yes, Sakura?" Iruka pressed, staring at her expectantly.

She smiled brightly, lowering her hand, and answering the question in a happy tone, "the key factor is _chakra_, sensei."

"Very good," he complimented, smiling back encouragingly, "So what is the key factor for _using_ chakra for ninjutsu? Anyone know?"

Sakura's hand was in the air once again, along with some stragglers, but Iruka's gaze was directed at someone else.

"Naruto," he asked, "can you answer the question?"

The name and the familiarity behind it caused me to turn around in my seat, slightly curious as to how he would answer.

_'__Was he actually paying attention?'_

I zeroed in on his face, watching with slight amusement as his eyes glanced around the room frantically, looking for an answer, a nervous glint in them.

_'__I'll take that as a no.'_

"_Well_," Iruka prompted, waiting and tapping his foot, "do you have an answer?"

A slow headshake and sheepish look was given in return, "Sorry sensei."

Iruka just tiredly sighed, seemingly expecting the response. His gaze shifted over in my direction, and for a scary moment, I thought he was going to pick me.

"Sasuke, can you give me an answer?"

Sighing in relief—though a little bummed that he couldn't see me—I leaned forward onto my desk to here Sasuke's response.

"Having good chakra control," he stated, still aloof and uncaring.

Multiple hushed squeals resounded around the room from the females at the sound of his voice, and I still had to repress snickers at how Sasuke's eye twitched.

"Yes, very good Sasuke," Iruka smiled, and started to go off in a rant about how important chakra was and why we need it.

At that point, I spaced out once more, though a bit more subtly than falling asleep. Instead, I chose to stare out the window like before, taking in the views of the once thought to be make believe village.

My gaze shifted all around until they settled on the Hokage Mountain, carefully looking at each individual carved on the stone.

_'__It reminds me of Mt. Rushmore,'_ I thought without realizing it. Pausing, I blinked, wondering where the thought came from—I tried pressing further into my mind to find out why, but it failed. Pursing my lips and rubbing a hand down my face, I tried instead to figure out what to do to start what Death had called 'helping'.

_'__Well,'_ I started, closing my eyes in concentration_, 'as far as I can remember, the whole start of everything bad happening was with the curse mark—if I can just prevent that…'_

Reopening my eyes and glancing at Sasuke's hardened face, I sighed pitifully, knowing I was way in over my head.

I needed ninja training to help fend off Orochimaru—and a _lot_ of it.

I currently had _none_.

I also needed to help Sasuke open up somehow—make him gain a few friends right off the bat and learn how to rely on others.

Glancing over, I watched as Sasuke's hardened face became a full out scowl, and I knew I was screwed.

_'__The curse mark is the least of my problems now,'_ I thought pathetically, sobbing internally, _'this stubborn kid is bent on revenge.'_

_'__And he wasn't even a very social person to begin with!' _my mind supplied, making things worse.

Sighing deeply in pity, I rested my head against the desk with a small 'thud'. The wood against my forehead felt cold, but it helped clear my thoughts slightly. Shivering slightly as my back prickled, I could feel Sasuke's gaze settle there, probably wondering what the heck was wrong with me; yet despite him questioning my sanity, I remained where I was, trying to think of how to save his own.

_'__I can do this,' _I self encouraged_, 'I can help him—save him even. I can help team 7, I can help the village.'_

Face softening with each word, I let my tense muscles relax, _'I can help him fight off everyone who is trying to take away his happiness—I know what's going to happen, and if I can prevent it, I will.'_

Smiling slightly, a new thought occurred to me, and I chose that idea to work on first:

_'__Primarily though, I need to help him fight off his inner demons before anyone else.'_

I tuned back into the conversation as Iruka ended with the words _'sparing is tomorrow, be ready and enjoy the rest of the day'_.

Glancing around from where I had my head lying on the desk, I noticed that everyone started to pack up, causing some relief to hit me.

_'__Finally, I can take a shower!'_

As kids started to leave, two kids in front of me on the desk caught my attention.

They were two totally different looking people in every sense—weight, hair color, eye color, personality—but they still seemed like they were good friends.

What caught my attention though, were their names.

"What do you say Shikamaru? Wanna go to the candy store after school?" the plumper one asked happily, eyes crinkled as he smiled.

"No way," Shikamaru answered with a tone that sounded dull and an attentive yet slumped posture, "you can get away with that stuff because your Mom is _nice_. But if _my_ mother found out I didn't come straight home, man I'd be in some serious trouble."

Meanwhile as they talked, I sat in my chair with my eyes wide and unblinking, berating myself for not them in front of me sooner.

_'__No—no _way_,'_ I thought, ready to smack myself_, 'two of the main characters have been sitting there—the whole time—and I didn't notice.'_

Sighing, I stared up at the ceiling with pursed lips.

_'__Learn to be observant,'_ I told myself with a frown, _'otherwise you're going to be the stupidest ninja alive.'_

"Hey, did ya hear," a whispering voice broke me out of my thoughts, causing me to focus and turn around to see why they were so secretive.

"Apparently the whole Uchiha clan was murdered," I heard one of them say, and I stiffened immensely, previous curiosity vanishing.

Swiveling my head slowly toward the boy in question, I frowned when I saw how tense and frozen he was.

"Yeah, that's what my Dad was telling me."

_'__Stop,'_ I yelled internally, fixing the two boys with wide-eyed looks_, 'you're going to make it worse!'_

"They say that Sasuke—!"

_'__Please don't finish that sentence.'_

"—is the only one who _survived._"

_'…__those _idiots_…'_

The second bell rang, and everyone filtered out through the door in multiple large crowds. Watching with curiosity as the other students packed up and left, I turned my head towards Sasuke when shuffling noises were heard.

"Hey, Sasuke—!" I whispered, noticing his hidden eyes, but getting cut off as he hurriedly stood up and left, eyes downcast and hidden underneath his bangs. With a choked noise I scrambled out of my seat—not before flicking both of the boys who caused that reaction—and running out the door after him.

Pausing at the door, I took a minute to enjoy their frightened screams of 'ghost!' before scrambling through the doorway and down the kid-filled halls.

I made it all the way to the large front door of the academy when I paused again, looking in every direction.

"He—_He ditched me_," I breathed with slight horror, realizing three things in that moment.

I lost track of Sasuke.

He's vulnerable to his emotions right now.

And I didn't know where the Uchiha compound was.

Sighing, I realized I was right—today _was_ going to be long.

* * *

**Wow guys; I can't believe how long this took to finish.**

**I'm sorry for such delay—I was just undergoing a huge amount of writer's block; but not to worry, I love this story too much to fully just abandon it.**

**Hopefully I can get this updated within two weeks? **

**Let's hope school isn't too hectic.**

**Any questions? Comments? Concerns? Let me know through reviews or private message!**

**Also, thank you to those who sent such positive reviews throughout the process of writing this chapter; your suggestions and comments were very helpful.**

**Question: do you guys play any sports?**


	4. Chapter 3: Promise

**Summary: AU. When one dies, they don't expect to be brought back to life to help a lonely kid after a massacre. I've learned to start expecting the unexpected. (OC-centric)**

**_*All rights for the characters go to Masashi Kishimoto; except for mine of course*_**

**Chapter 3**

**Updated: 3/29/16**

_First Person POV_

_…_

In a normal person's life, many things can happen for no apparent reason—but the things that _do_ happen have a general meaning, or some underlining life lesson in them.

I'm not saying that every unexpected event has some freaky universal message, but it comes real close to being that way.

As I run through the bustling streets of Konoha, currently frantic and avoiding all contact to keep my identity safe, I try to decipher the message I've been sent.

And it seems to scream at me in big, bold letters that my life is far from normal now.

_'__Or,'_ I add pessimistically, dodging that of an unaware street vender, _'I'm in way over my head.'_

Panting heavily as I jogged from side to side of the overcrowded dust road, I glanced in every nook and cranny of each tiny shop and food stall. Refocusing my sights on the road and off the side-buildings, I wondered how I was going to find _him_.

To be clear, I mean a currently missing Sasuke Uchiha.

He wasn't missing as in kidnapped—he was missing as in I had no idea where he was at the moment.

And I didn't know which scenario was worse.

Taking a few more running steps, I squeaked loudly when I almost ran into a cart full of fruits, narrowly dodging to the left as it passed.

_'__Ok, time out.'_

Directing myself to the nearest alleyway, I halted and grabbed the brick wall of the building that was beside the narrow street. Leaning all my weight against the wall, I sunk down it, now sitting with my eyes closed.

I was panting heavily, my lungs not used to the strain of running—and the anxiety wasn't exactly helping anything either. Taking a deep, calming breath, I rubbed a hand down my face, wiping off the sweat.

_'__I need to get a grip,'_ I thought, closing my eyes to think things through, _'I can't help anyone if I can't even help myself.'_

Pausing, I opened my eyes to glance at the sky, bright green hues growing darker with each new troubling thought.

"And yet, I don't even know _how_ to help myself—I don't know anything really." I grumbled, frustration coursing through my expression.

Huffing another breath, I wondered how exactly Death expected me to do this.

A normal girl, with basically not a fighting bone in her body, does not equal a place where fighting and death is the normality among everyone.

"What was Death thinking?" I whispered, still staring at the sky as the clouds floated lazily by.

_'__What was_ I_ thinking?'_

But I already knew the response to that question.

I wanted answers—that was one of the only reasons why I accepted. I wanted to know what had happened; I wanted to know why I died so early, why I couldn't remember anything.

I didn't realize I was in way over my head.

I didn't realize that I had to join somewhere where things were in jeopardy, and everything depended on the sanity of an eight-year old boy.

_'__Who's still missing, by the way,'_ the same nagging voice from the back of my mind whispered.

Groaning at how I was already failing what I needed to accomplish—which was probably a new record—I took my eyes off the sky and directed them to my feet, not caring as they started to go out of focus.

_'__I want to help,'_ a part of me whispered_, 'but I have no idea _how_.'_

And as the second passed, I realized something else.

Sasuke might not even want my help.

He might really want to become an avenger, even if he had to sever bonds that kept him happy.

Maybe I wasn't needed for this—maybe I shouldn't be involved at all.

Should I let things play out like they were supposed to? Should I let the ones who were destined to die, die?

Who was I that I got the chance to mess with the timeline?

_Who was I that got the chance to essentially play God?_

_"_But then again," I mumbled to myself, calculatingly assessing the situation, "it's a chance that I can get only once in a lifetime."

_'__It's a second chance for a reason.'_

Taking a shuddering breath at the new adrenaline that filled me, I climbed myself up the wall to stand.

_'__No one wants to be alone.'_

I pushed myself off the brick, a new outlook and a new sense of energy filling me.

_'__No one is going to die that shouldn't have had to in the first place.'_

Taking a step forward as I quickly wiped sweat off of my forehead, I dashed back out into the crowd.

_'__I have the future knowledge for a reason—I'm not letting it go to waste.'_

_..._

* * *

I had a good five minutes into running around blind, still looking for anything that could give me a clue where I needed to go, when I started to formulate a plan.

Why not just ask someone where it was?

_'__Because no one's going to talk to air,' _I reminded myself, a bit too cynically.

A quick pause mid-stride, followed by a quick turn to avoid the little kids playing, and then suddenly another ingenious idea hit me as I watched one kid pickpocket a grown adult.

While all the while I thought the kid was a little crook, I recognized how good the idea of stealth really was.

_'__Maybe if I can sneak up on someone, ask them where the compound is, and make sure they never turn around to see that there is supposedly 'no one' there, I can get my answer.'_

Smiling at how intelligent I made myself seem, I slowed to a halt, searching for someone who looked distracted enough not to talk directly talk to me.

Taking a few walking paces, and disappearing behind a street corner, I spotted the perfect victim.

It was a middle-aged man; with a graying beard adorned in some dust from the boxes he was unpacking. Jogging to get to him faster, my senses were immediately hit with the strong smell of smoke from a brightly lit cigar between his teeth. Crinkling my nose, I held my breath for a few seconds so I didn't breathe it in.

"Excuse me," I asked in the nicest voice I could muster with the smell, "can I ask you a question?"

To my relief, he never turned, and continued doing his job.

"Sure kid, whaddya wan'?" he asked, accent heavy and voice raspy from all the smoke in his lungs.

I shifted my weight from my left foot to my right, and I crossed my fingers, "can you tell me where the Uchiha compound is located?"

"Why do ya wanna know where dat is?" he asked again, still stacking boxes with confusion lacing his posture.

Blinking, I frantically hurried to come up with a convincing lie, "I—I, uh, wanna pay my respects to them?"

It was supposed to be a serious and somber statement, and it somehow came out an unsure question.

_'__Remember to work on your lying skills along with your endurance.' _I told myself, cringing at how badly I was being a ninja.

Surprisingly, he didn't notice my obvious lie—or was too busy to care—and pointing in the direction to the left of us, "Keep going that a way fer a while, then turn left. It a be 'round there."

Nodding, and silently celebrating my success, I smiled, and muttered a quick _'thank you'_ before taking off, heading in the direction he pointed.

_'__I hope I'm not too late.'_

Picking up the pace, I dodged the stray pieces of glass in the dirt, wondering why they were there in the first place, before reaching another street corner that had a four-way intersection.

_'__He said to turn left,'_ I thought, _'let's hope he's right.'_

Walking alongside a random civilian woman with a green dress, I turned the corner and ducked just as a plank of wood that was getting unloaded flew overhead. With wide eyes, I stared at the direct spot where the large piece of wood would've smacked. Sending a quick and childish glare to the uncaring construction worker—and then laughing quietly when the lady in the green dress starting yelling about how he almost smacked her as well, I shook it off and continued running.

I noticed a red and white shape on the wall of a building, and I lit up considerably when I saw the familiar symbol in the distance.

Running just a tad bit faster, I ducked in and over the yellow police tape just like yesterday, searching for any sign of a presence nearby.

_'__There's only broken glass, dried blood, and empty buildings.'_

Breathing in slightly to catch my breath, I held my side to somehow alleviate the cramp that running improperly had formed. Wiping sweat off of my forehead with my other hand, I cursed the sun for being so bright today.

Shaking off the heat, I limped through the dust road of the compound a little bit more slowly—still focused on both finding Sasuke, and catching my breath.

Glancing from vacant building to vacant building, I couldn't help the eerie feeling that crept up on me while I walked further into the place. These were peoples' homes, and ironically, their graves.

Pausing mid-step, a thought occurred to me.

_'__Did the hokage take the dead bodies, or are they—?'_

Getting rid of the thought immediately, I continued to venture forward, more hurriedly than before.

_'__Ok,'_ I breathed, trying to clear my thoughts, _'if I were an emotionally unstable 8 year old, where would I be?'_

"He wouldn't be home," I whispered out loud, rubbing my chin in thought "nor would he be in a public place—so where then?"

_'__Where did he go in the anime at this point?'_

Eyes widening in realization, I took a 360 degree glance around where I stood, before taking off in the right direction.

Smiling slightly in success for actually remembering something, I ran full speed towards where he most likely would have gone.

_'__To the lake we go.'_

_..._

* * *

The original destination I wanted was a lot harder to find then I expected—it was hidden behind a thick brush of trees, with multitudes of other plants and bushes. I had welcomed the change from rough dirt to soft grass willingly along the way, sighing contentedly when the ache from running on solid ground was over. My content posture didn't last for long though—a tense stance replaced the other, and nervousness started to creep in.

There was the lake like originally seen, and in seconds, everything about the situation sunk in as reality.

There was the dock.

There was Sasuke.

And I only had moments left before he makes his life-changing decision.

It was all up to me.

_Me_. The person who couldn't be seen, the one with no fight in her, no plan.

Before I could stop myself, my feet started moving towards him, walking gingerly, stiff.

I wasn't ready to take on responsibility—I wasn't prepared. And yet, I didn't really have any other choice.

I was sent here for a reason, and I wasn't going to let that reason go to waste. Still walking slowly and carefully, I tried to come up with something to say when I got there.

After much consideration, I finally realized it that _I had absolutely no clue._

I was ten feet away from the dock now.

_'__I can do this.' _I self encouraged.

I was five feet away from the dock now.

_'__I can help Konohagakure.'_

I was one foot away from the dock now.

_I can help him.'_

Placing one bare foot on the stained wood, it took all my willpower to keep standing upright.

_'__Just breathe.'_

His posture visibly became more guarded, and I knew that he knew I was there. He was giving me the briefest of side-glances, before facing the reflection of himself in the water once again.

"Go away," he commanded, voice heavy and so void of anything besides hopelessness.

Closing my eyes, I took in another deep breath, before walking to the edge where he sat, standing there for a second to take everything in, before sitting next to him myself. My feet were instantly soaked in the crystal clear water underneath, and I silently felt relieved that my old leggings weren't _so_ baggy that they were soaked as well.

Looking down at my rippling reflection, I watched myself purse my lips, before speaking up, "I'm not going to _'go away'_, Sasuke. I believe I've already established that we're stuck with each other."

From the reflections in the water, I saw his eyes looking at me for a second, before resting on his hands once again, and I switched my gaze to him.

"Hey," I mumbled, curling my fingers into the dock's wood, "I-I know everything's a little messed up right now," I started, seemingly saying whatever was coming to mind first.

"And, I know that you think you're the only one who can…take _vengeance_ for your clan, per say, "I continued in a light tone, carefully avoiding the word _'__avenge'_, "but, you're—you're _not_ alone, ya know? You're not the only one who needs to go through this—you don't _have_ to take him on by yourself."

"But I _am_ the only—!" he retaliated, obsidian eyes flashing and mixed negative emotions making its way onto his face.

"No," I cut off hastily, "you are _not_ the only one. You have comrades—you have me. Never think that you are alone."

Gazing back at the water, I stared into my reflection's eyes, gazing at the forest green color and continuing.

"I'm here to help—help _you,_ that is. I may not know fully what I'm doing, but my second chance would be pointless if you didn't let me support you when I obviously can." I stated with a light laugh.

There was a pause of silence—not completely awkward, but more contemplative; as he was actually considering my words.

Deciding that I needed to fill the quiet void—because he obviously wasn't going to—I continued speaking.

"I know that you're angry with, well, everything at this point—but I need a promise from you Sasuke."

Maybe it was the seriousness of my tone, or the fact that it was an unusual request, but somehow, I had gotten his full attention.

He was now facing me, curiosity glinting in his troubled eyes. Matching his stare, I decided it was now or never, and let the words fall out of my mouth before I could stop them.

"Promise me, that when you get older, you'll stick by your comrades—that the revenge you want to get won't consume you."

His eyes flashed again, and I could feel myself shrink back a bit, waiting for the protest.

"But my _entire_ clan—!"

"I _know_. I _know_ how much that must've hurt—I know that you want…to _avenge_ them. But don't do it alone. I'm not saying to forget the drive to avenge everyone lost, but don't do it without help—don't _isolate_ yourself."

He was scowling now, looking away from me and into the still water.

"Promise me—Promise that when you get strong enough to defeat _him_, you don't do it alone."

It was an urgent statement, but the way I said it made it more than urgent; it was _dire_.

In truth, the promise I asked him to make would be the step one—it would be the first step to a happier future.

There would be no betrayal.

No hate.

No darkness.

He could live the life alternate to what had happened. The one in the anime that Itachi had wanted in the first place.

The one life he should've gotten.

He was looking at me as if he couldn't from a coherent statement—his mind jumbled with a million and one thoughts that his eyes oddly reflected.

"I can't just—!" he protested, eyebrows furrowed and hands clenched.

Breathing in, I turned to look at him fully, still tense, but slightly less nervous and more pressing, "_Promise_. _Me_."

There was an opposed and frustrated look he gave me, but it was resigned and turned into a more submissively frustrated one, "I'll try to."

It wasn't the exact answer I wanted, but it was close enough.

It was the slight step forward into the light, and a step backward from the dark—and that's all I needed.

Relaxing immensely, I smiled brightly, startling him somewhat with my change in attitude.

"Thank you."

_'__Step one: complete.'_

_…_

**The chapter had been originally short—so I figured I could quickly tweak a few things and get it finished and updated.**

**Honestly I'm proud of myself for not procrastinating as much as I had been recently lol. **

**Any questions? Comments? Concerns? Let me know! Review!**

**Next week is spring break and I'm legitimately excited—I'm not going on vacation, but the fact that there'll be no school for a week is amazing.**

**I'll finally be able to catch up on some major sleep ;)**

**Question: What are you guys doing for your spring break?**


	5. Chapter 4: Lake Adventures

**Summary: AU. When one dies, they don't expect to be brought back to life to help a lonely kid after a massacre. I've learned to start expecting the unexpected. (OC-centric)**

**_*All rights for the characters go to Masashi Kishimoto; except for mine of course*_**

**(Updated 3/29/16)**

**Chapter 4**

_First Person POV_

The sun was finally rising; the illumination of pinks and oranges started flashing across the skyline of the blacks and blues.

It was a calming feeling. A feeling of peace, relief.

And I wanted that feeling to last forever.

But I knew sometime in the future, that feeling of peace would be replaced by something much darker—much more stressful.

Sighing, I lent my head along the side of the rail of the porch step, enjoying the breeze that fluttered by softly around where I sat.

Technically, I knew I had a lot of work to do—and I mean _a lot_—but in truth, I had no real game plan to prepare for it.

Of course I knew I had to save Sasuke from his whole hateful rampage in the nearing future, and I knew I had to keep myself alive in the process—but _how_?

How am I, someone with no experience, no chance, and not a single fighting bone in my body supposed to fight off people like Obito, or even _Madara_ for that matter?

The only things so far that count for any special talents is my knack for making an idiot of myself, and _baking_.

Not exactly shinobi lifesaving super moves.

_'__Ah, yes, let's just bake them enough cookies that they'll keel over and die,'_ I thought cynically, smirking ruefully into space.

Getting back to the matter at hand, I slumped in slight defeat at the lack of ideas.

"I just need someone to tell me how," I whispered, feeling an unfamiliar feeling bubble in the pit of my stomach, "I can't just be _expected_ to know what I'm doing all the time."

The feeling didn't lessen, but my sudden frustration started to ebb away at the sound of the birds chirping in the trees.

"I wonder if I was just as confused in my old life as I am now." I murmured, remembering the flashes of pictures I suddenly got within the past week, and the scene I tapped into when I was with Death.

_'__I really want to remember.'_

Sucking in a breath and then releasing it slowly short after, I pushed all negative thoughts aside; pushing them to another day to stress about them.

_'__Let's just hope that won't end with it blowing up in my face.'_

Chuckling at the thought, I sunk even further into the rail, closing my eyes and settling to just enjoy the peace swirling around me for the moment.

Because god knows it wasn't going to last.

…

It must've been exactly fifteen minutes later that Sasuke found where I was hiding out for the morning.

His hair was messy, and he looked more disheveled than I've ever seen him.

I tried to hide my snort, but by the glare he gave me, I could tell it was still heard.

There was the normal exchange of good morning from me seconds after, and the even more normal exchange of a lack of response from him.

I made a mental note in the back of my mind to make him become 'more social' to be listed and step #2.

He departed for the kitchen shortly after greeting me, and I trailed behind him, the glorious thought of breakfast filling my mind.

Unfamiliar scents filled my senses as I crossed through the doorway, and I paused to savor whatever it was that smelt so good.

Turning to peek over Sasuke's shoulder—and embarrassingly enough, I had to go on my tip-toes to do so—I saw the same cup of ramen from some nights ago sitting on the counter, along with some rice, and most enjoyably, eggs.

Eyes glinting, I rushed around all obstacles, and sat on the chair as quickly as possible, ready to dig into the food.

That is, until I realized the lack of regular utensils.

I sat there frozen, hand still outreached towards the cup of ramen with a feeling of complete defeat.

_'__I am a capable fifteen year old girl,'_ I thought, incredulous at how difficult it was eating with chopsticks, _'it shouldn't be so hard to eat with two pointy sticks.'_

I felt the curious look from Sasuke from where he sat across from me, probably wondering why I hadn't eaten anything yet.

"Why aren't you eating?" He asked, almost on cue with my thoughts, as he glanced at me weirdly.

"Oh, well," I responded, looking from him to the ceiling, "that's a really good question."

A pause.

I blinked.

He blinked.

A small smirk stretched slowly across his face.

I gulped.

"Sana," he asked, smirk still in place, "do you not know how to use chopsticks?"

Ah, there it was—the dreaded question.

I gulped again, nervously switching my gaze from side to side, before smoothing out my recently found and adorned shirt, "Uh, no?"

There was another pause, in which I blushed to high heaven, and Sasuke had a hard time restraining himself from snorting.

"You really don't know?" he asked, slightly amused at the thought, "all this time I just thought you had an eating problem."

I rolled my eyes at him.

"Back where I came from—my old life I guess you could say—we didn't use chopsticks from what I can remember." I explained, still rather pink.

"Then what did you eat with?"

There was a small twinkle in his eyes, like he was genuinely curious—and I smiled softly at how his childishness was still slightly there.

"Forks and spoons," I spoke, still smiling softly, "and knives, but that's not really necessary right now—I mean, I could use it, seeing as how it's only five feet away, but you don't use a knife to eat ramen."

His face still held the curiosity, but something else replaced it—confusion.

"If you wanted the ramen so bad," he explained, puzzlement in his features, "couldn't you just have drank the broth and noodles if you didn't know how to use chopsticks?"

I froze for a second time, dread curling into every fiber of my being—that, and embarrassment.

_'__I'm so stupid,'_ I thought mentally, oddly feeling the urge to bang my head on the table, _'I starved for nothing!'_

Sasuke shook his head, uncrossing his arms and picking up a piece of egg with his pair of chopsticks, "you're an idiot."

Not in the mood to defend myself, I let my head drop onto the counter as I agreed with him.

"I know."

…

"Sasuke?" I asked, sitting under the canopy of the large tree by the dock like I had only days before, "why aren't you at the academy?"

It was a simple question, one that any person could answer. But the tone I had in the statement made it seem like I expected a correct answer, or there was going to be some yelling shortly after.

Because ditching school was a big 'no-no' in my book.

"It's Saturday," he stated, eyebrow quirked in a way that screamed 'I knew what you were about to do and I saw through it'.

Deflating just a bit, I puffed out my cheeks, before the realization dawned on me.

"Wait, it's Saturday? _Already_?" I asked again, really puzzled at the concept.

I received a short, quick nod, before the high and mighty Uchiha slipped into some stretches before training.

I ignored the short reply in favor of focusing on the fact that I had been here for five days already—_five_ straight days here in another dimension, and I was still alive.

_'__Maybe I do have a chance'_, I thought, smiling up into the sky, _'a small, tiny, miniscule chance—but a chance all the same.'_

Pushing myself up and onto my feet, a felt a strong sense of determination wash over me, and a grin stretched slowly on my face.

_'__Let's make that chance a little bit greater.'_

"Hey! Sasuke! Teach me how to do that stretch thing!"

…

_'__Limbs numb—eyes burning—can't—feel—arms,'_ I thought to myself, breathing heavily; sweat pouring down my face and legs trembling with exertion.

_'__Focus—_focus_.'_

I pulled my arm back, fingers spreading the five kunai in my hand apart slightly, and I narrowed my eyes at the target.

_'__Get this right—breathe in slow.'_

Green eyes locked on the spot designated.

_'__Tense your muscles—shift.'_

Fingers twitched and mouth parted open.

_'__Breathe out—shift.'_

Eyes closed, teeth clenched, and shoulders locked, I swung.

_'__Go!'_

The five knives flew in rapid succession, sailing yards before narrowing in space.

I bit my lip in hope, my eyes gaining a want—no—a _need_ for the kunai to hit the target.

They flew a bit more, before a loud '_thunk'_ was heard, and my eyes widened in disbelief.

_'__Bulls-eye.'_

"I made it," I whispered quietly, before my eyes lit up in excitement and I jumped in the air with joy—tone gaining in volume, "I made it! Sasuke did you see that! Dead center!"

I glanced back at the dock where Sasuke was training, smile stretching from ear to ear.

I probably looked like a disaster—hair wild, face red, and shoulders hunched—but at the moment, I felt too happy to care.

My day was mostly a continuous cycle of stretches, moves that Sasuke deemed as 'beginner taijutsu', and running laps to build up endurance; then I pleaded to move onto this, and spent even more time on kunai throwing than any other thing.

"Yeah, I saw—you did good," he started, calling all the way from where he stood, hand on hip and tone unamused; before a smirk settled on his face, "for a beginner."

Scowling at his need to ruin my moment, I pushed that aside, still amped up at the fact that _I made five kunai hit dead center._

I found myself unusually giddy, going as far as doing a little happy dance at the thought, before brushing wet strands of hair out of my face.

_'__God, I need shower.'_

Sighing softly, smile still on my face, I continued walking towards the docks, giving a heads up to Sasuke that I was going to head back home.

My feet padded against soft grass, and I chuckled at the feeling.

_'__It's so beautiful here,' _I thought, before seeing Sasuke's scowling face_, 'nevermind about that last statement.'_

"What's with that face?" I asked; hand now on my hip, and eyebrow raised to a certain degree.

"You smell," he stated bluntly, nose crinkled, "and you look weird."

_'__Oh really now?'_

He was one to talk—his hair was just as messy as mine; and while he wasn't sweating as much, there still was a small sheen of it on his forehead.

But instead of retaliating, I did something different; I smirked his signature smirk, before an idea formed in my head, a mischievous glint forming in my eyes.

I'm not sure what came over me—maybe the intoxicating excitement, or the overwhelming adrenaline coursing in my veins—but I let out a loud, uncharacteristic evil laugh, before running past the confused boy, and then grabbing his hand in mine.

And I dragged him right into the lake.

I let out a hoot of laughter at his priceless expression before connecting with the lake water, and he in return gave the biggest glare ever before received.

It was the first time I could actually recall laughing the way I did in this dimension—carefree, lighthearted. I felt pure happiness.

I felt truly alive since coming here.

Blowing bubbles out of my mouth, I gave him a thumbs up in the surprisingly clear water, before screaming slightly when a huge fish passed by.

Of course, the only thing indicating that I screamed was the long stream of bubbles—and the indication of him laughing was by the bubbles streaming out of _his_ mouth.

Kicking my feet rapidly, I broke the surface of the water in a second, taking in a much needed breath of air.

Sasuke rose up to the surface a second later, scowl on his face.

"Why, pray tell, did you drag me into the lake?" he asked, unmasked irritation on his face.

Smiling, I shrugged, before swimming away from him as fast as possible.

"Sana!" he called, finally truly frustrated, "if you didn't have a reason, then why do it at all—_hey_! Come back here!"

Laughing so hard I starting crying, I swam in circles to get away from his wrath.

"I had no idea Uchihas didn't like water," I snickered, "you're like a wet cat!"

Slightly seething, he grumbled, before retaliating, "And you're like a wet dog!"

That's when he splashed me in the face.

Spluttering from the practical _wave_ of water that hit me, I smirked, knowing what was about to go down.

"You're on Uchiha."

And then the greatest splash battle Konoha has ever seen took place.

Let's just say, there were no winners.

…

"I still can't believe you threw a fish at me—a fish!"

"You were asking for it," Sasuke stated dryly, smirk full blown on his face as we trekked back to the main house, "how was I supposed to know you were scared of fish?"

Making an extremely unattractive face at him, I practically screeched in his ear, "Any sane person would freak out if a _huge freaking fish_ was thrown at them!"

"None of them would scream like a little girl though."

Seething, I huffed more loudly, looking at him with my eyes ablaze, "I am a little girl!"

"You don't act like one."

"Why are you so talkative all of sudden? And sassy?" I asked, suspicious of the boy next to me.

I saw him give me a side glance before, looking ahead at the dust street, "It could be that you dragged me into the lake."

"Yeah—!"

"Or, that you threw algae at my face."

"Ok, but that was in retaliation the wave of water you sent my way—!" I tried to explain.

"Or, _maybe_, that my clothes are sopping wet." He finished, giving me a look.

"Ok, alright," I muttered, arms crossed and eyes gazing elsewhere, "I'm sorry ok?"

He didn't answer, and that sparked some confusion on my end—since I expected an arrogant reply, or another sassy remark,

But when I peeked to see _why_ he was so silent, and _why_ he didn't take advantage of the apology, I nearly gasped in surprise.

He—_he was smiling._

Sasuke Uchiha was _smiling_.

It was a tiny smile, not even completely there—and it wasn't directed at me, but off towards the distance, but still—it was there.

From what I know about the anime, Sasuke freaking Uchiha didn't _smile_.

And here he was, doing just that.

My chest fluttered at the sight, before the feeling went away all together.

That action just caused even more confusion to mix in.

_'__Why did I—?'_

"Sana?" I heard, breaking me away from my thoughts.

Looking up quickly, I muttered unintelligent nothings in response.

"Are you coming inside?" Sasuke asked, giving me a weird look.

"Inside? What," I muttered, still half dazed from everything abnormal happening—because him _smiling_ and my chest feeling _weightless_ wasn't _normal_—before realizing what he asked, "Inside! Yeah—yeah I'm going inside!"

Breaking off with an uneasy laugh, I avoided his weirded-out look and shuffled past him quickly, still freaked out.

_'__Ok, after a shower, I need sleep.'_

Heading straight for the guest bathroom—the one I had used before—I stepped inside, turning in question at the small knock on the door behind me.

"Here," he muttered, handing me a tiny bundle of clothes, "change into this after."

"Sasuke?" I asked, my turn now to stare at him weirdly, "are you sure—?"

"Unless you still want to smell like lake water after, then I could just take the clothes back and—!"

"No!" I exclaimed, snatching the clothes from his hands hurriedly and shutting the white door.

"Thanks!" I muttered out quickly, before turning on the shower.

_'__Today was really—_really_—weird.'_

Stripping and stepping quickly into the shower, I brushed through my tangled mane with shampoo and conditioner with a grimace.

Expression morphing quickly into that of thoughtfulness, I rinsed the bubbles from my hair.

_'__And for some reason, I get the feeling that it will get even weirder.'_

…

I turned the knob on the shower, wrapping the towel around my frame lightly, before steeping out of the tub with chills going down my spine.

_'__It's so cold,'_ I moaned mentally, ready to hop back into the warm shower, _'why is it always so cold?'_

Dropping the towel and grabbing the shorts on the sink counter, I threw those on just as fast, before yanking the shirt on soon after. Wrapping my hair into the towel, I let it stay like that, before noticing the clothes I just put on.

_'__No way,'_ I thought, turning to see the Uchiha symbol on the back_, 'these are clothes from the Uchiha clan.'_

Freaked out about wearing someone else's—someone who was possibly _dead_—clothes, but yet, oddly thankful for the non-smelling fabric, I learned to get over it and just wear it.

Fixing the black shirt and re-adjusting it to settle just slightly over the gray shorts, I opened to bathroom door; marveling at all the steam that seemed to be pouring out.

Pausing, I remembered to take the towel off my head, and hung it up on the rack.

_'__Ok, now let's go get some food.'_

The very thought of something to eat had my mouth watering, and I subconsciously quickened my steps towards the kitchen.

_'__Hallway's still very much creepy,'_ I thought as I stood on the tile of the kitchen, already shuffling to the refrigerator to scour out a snack.

Grabbing some leftovers, and the bowl of rice on the counter, I continued my shuffling to the living room. Leaning into the plush couch, I curled my feet into the cushion, and dug into my food.

_'__This is what heaven tastes like,'_ I thought as I ate some off the eggs from this morning.

"Sana," a voice called from the kitchen, sounding muffled and slightly accusing, "did you steal my bowl of rice?"

Glancing down at the very bowl in my hands, I froze.

"Uh, no?"

And with that I bolted out of the room and into the hallway, a very angry Sasuke on my heels.

…

**I don't know how things are getting done this quickly; it's kinda insane really.**

**But I mean, I'm not complaining.**

**So, here's the fourth chapter—revised and updated as promised.**

**Once again, if there are any questions, comments, or concerns, let me know!**

**Question: what's your favorite food?**

**I also had done a short little one-shot that used to be a part of one of the earlier chapters; and instead of getting rid of it completely, I decided to add it to the end of this chapter. **

**_This one-shot has no real correlation to the plot; its sole purpose is to bring a smile to your guy's faces._**

**_…_**

**_One-shot #1: Chopsticks_**

A normal person has a general routine in their lives—a sense of normalcy, regularity.

The go out in the world, and everything in their lives is expected beforehand—go to school, eat, sleep, work, and so on.

And there's me—the girl who died and got dropped off in some other dimension.

So what sort of routine do I have?

_A hectic one._

And the first thing on that hectic routine?

_Training._

Honestly, training was the last thing I expected to do—of course, I would have started eventually; but to begin only few days after actually getting here wasn't originally planned.

A tiny thought formed in my head though—one that reminded me that I needed to begin—I needed to start preparing.

As of right now, I was as weak as a twig. I wouldn't last five seconds in real battle against an _eight year old_; not to mention if I was in one with a _full_ _grown_ _ninja_.

So I did the first thing that came to mind:

I asked Sasuke to train me.

He was rather skeptical at first—either from how he still was rather freaked out from my supposed '_ghost'_ status, or he truly believed I wasn't completely capable—but eventually gave in after much persistence.

Or in other words: _annoyance_.

He had shown me what kunai was, taught me how to hold it, and then told me to just aim and throw it—saying that it was the first thing I had to learn, and the easiest.

So day after day, I would practice while he was at the academy—having nothing else to do—and when he would get home, he would stand on the dock, practicing shooting fire from his mouth.

The first time I saw an actual jutsu performed I was left in complete shock, marveling at the fact that actual fire—burning, scorching _fire_—came from his mouth, and how unaffected he was; acting as if it was the most common thing in the world.

But to him, I guess it really was.

It's been three days since my promise, and five days since I came here; and already, things were changing my perspective.

For better or for worse, only time will tell.

Like for instance, I never imagined myself throwing deadly projectiles like it was something everybody did—because _no_ _one_ from where I used to live did that.

Or, at least I think they didn't.

But besides that, here I was, flinging kunai at a target that was at least twenty feet away from me—dripping in sweat, and ready to go and jump into the lake only a few yards away.

_'Swimming sounds so nice right now,'_ I thought, grunting as I put all my weight into my throw_, 'only problem is that I might get scorched by Sasuke's training.'_

Breathing heavily, I squinted my eyes, trying to see if the sharp object made its mark into the wooden board. Groaning in dismay when I saw that it landed on the tree just above it, I dragged my feet forward and set off to go get it.

_'This is the fiftieth time today!'_ I cried mentally, ready to just give up.

Reaching up and grabbing the handle, I jerked it out of the wooden bark, clenching it in my palm, before resolving to try again.

_'Focus,'_ I told myself, _'focus, throw it, and get it right in the center—how hard is it to throw one little knife anyway?'_

Heading back to my original position in the grass, I breathed in deeply, clearing my thoughts before I could lose my concentration all together.

_'This is it,'_ I told myself, _'if you can't get this on kunai at least _somewhat_ on the target, there's no way you'll survive.'_

Rearing my arm back, I let all the excess air out, prepping myself to throw.

_'You can do it Susana,'_ I heard a tiny, familiar voice from inside my head exclaim, sounding like it was from a distant memory.

_'Just try,'_ another joined in, voice similar to the other one in familiarity.

For a second, two grinning faces flashed in my head—eyes bright in encouragement, and mouths stretched in excitement. A moment later, they were gone—and all traces of memory of them faded as well.

Eyes furrowed in confusion, I pushed that loss of memory aside, and tried to focus on their words.

_'I can do it—just try.'_

Shifting my fingers slightly on the solid metal, I moved my feet into a regular stance, and flung my arm forward; letting the kunai fly with it.

Closing my eyes, I held my breath and waited—arms falling loosely to my sides, and my body slowly untensing.

I felt the wind slow to a stop, and it seemed like time stood still. Everything hushed into a deafeningly loud silence, and I gasped when a loud '_thunk'_ broke it.

Peeling my eyes open cautiously, they widened in disbelief merely a second later.

_'No—no way!'_

Grinning ear to ear, I brushed the sweat out of my eyes before running full speed at the target; my grin getting impossibly bigger as the kunai almost dead center in the board came into sight.

"Yes," I exclaimed, fist pumping the air, "I finally did it!"

Doing a little happy dance, I twirled around in a circle, laughing in relief.

_'Finally—it actually landed in the target this time!'_

Gaining my composure, I glanced back at the lake to see if Sasuke had noticed my raving—and to my utmost relief, he didn't.

He was still standing on the dock, breathing heavily and hands resting on his knees. His features took on a more serious look, and I knew his concentration level was more intense than mine.

Smiling softly, I scooted closer to the target, raising my hands and grasping the hilt tightly. Making a gesture to pull the weapon free, my smile dropped when it wouldn't budge from the stained wood.

_'What the heck?'_

Scowling, I tugged harder—but only managed to tug a mere centimeter out.

"Really," I complained aloud, still scowling, "all that motivation, and now it's stuck in the target."

Huffing, my hands wrapped around the hilt a second time; this time with more determination and more resolve. Placing a bare foot on the trunk of the tree, I used it as a base to push against as I pulled.

Placing all the remaining strength I had into my hand—which wasn't a lot to begin with—I grit my teeth as I heaved; allowing a certain string of words out of my mouth as I did.

Seeing the metal blade start to break free, I placed just a little more strength into it—a little more power.

Who could've guessed that it would turn out to be such a bad idea?

Apparently not me.

In a mere second after placing everything I had into pulling the stupid kunai out of the target, I knew something had gone wrong.

There was a loud sound of an explosion, and the strong smell of fire; I had glanced behind me, staring in awe at the powerful display of Sasuke's family's jutsu.

And that's when my foot slipped.

Maybe it was due to being distracted, or just momentarily forgetting that I had a powerful weapon myself in my hand—whatever it was, I managed to fall, and I managed to slice open my hand as the kunai slipped with me.

Shock written all over my face as I finally landed on the grassy ground, I hissed as the pain of the cut registered in my mind.

_'Ow,'_ I thought, my mantra beginning to become slightly hysteric_, 'ow—ooow—this is—not—ok.'_

Groaning, I quickly stood up, not sure what to do.

"I need bandages," I murmured, watching as the long cut wouldn't stop bleeding, "I really—_really_—need some bandages."

Turning quickly on my heel, I forgot my current training and started heading straight back for the house.

Bare feet crunching onto the ground as I sped quickly towards the nearest medical kit—in other words, what I assumed to be the bathroom cabinet, I desperately pleaded with whatever supernatural force that was out there for Sasuke not to notice.

Sadly, he had.

My eye caught hold of Sasuke's as he glanced at me, his eyes locking with mine. Carefully hiding my hand from sight—because it was embarrassing _enough_ without the eight year old knowing—I managed a quick forced grin before hurrying my steps towards the edge of the clearing.

I was acting odd—and he could most definitely tell.

"I'm fine!" I yelled to him, smile just a tad bit too wide, "I'm just taking a bathroom break."

He looked as if he were going to ask me what I was doing, but I sped out of hearing range before he could.

_'No need to make a bigger idiot of myself,'_ I thought silently, uninjured hand clasped over my sliced one.

Racing through the dirt road for a mere two blocks, my pain clouded eyes lit up a little when the main house came into sight.

Leaping up onto the porch, I flung the door open—not bothering to close it—and sprinted to the bathroom before I got blood on anything.

_'This is so gross,'_ I noted mentally, staring at my hand with a pinched face.

The sight of blood never really had me disgusted before, but maybe the sight of my own is what made things worse.

Especially when the bleeding hadn't stopped yet.

"Ok," I told myself aloud, standing in front of the bathroom mirror with an expression of unease, "I just need some bandages and disinfectant—that's all."

It was a poor way to convince myself that I didn't need stitches, but it was the only idea I had at the moment.

Squatting down to grab the bin underneath the sink, I paused when I realized in wasn't there.

_'Lovely. Just lovely.'_

Groaning in slight pain and slight irritation, I ran a hand down my face to clear my thoughts.

"Isn't it like, universal _law_ that all medical supplies be under the bathroom sink? Or is that just me?" I complained out loud, scowl written on my face as I stared at the lack of bandages under the sink.

A pause.

"That's just you."

Rearing back in shock, I swiveled my head towards the doorway, complete surprise written over my face.

"S-Sasuke?" I stuttered, completely bewildered by his sudden appearance, "How did you—?"

"There was blood on the kunai you were training with," he replied simply, with a raised eyebrow and an indifferent look on his face, "only an idiot wouldn't be able to realize what happened."

"Oh," I stated, still pretty shocked, "right."

There was another pause of silence, before he cleared his throat, "Your blood is getting on the floor."

Eyes wide, I saw a few red drops on the tile next to my feet, and scrambled up to rinse my hand in the sink.

Laughing sheepishly as the water washed away at my hand, I gave him an apologetic look.

He sighed heavily, before leaning against the doorway, "How did you manage to cut it that bad?" he asked randomly, looking somewhat interested.

Turning the faucet off, I opened my mouth to speak, looking up at the ceiling to avoid his gaze.

"I was, uh, trying to get the kunai out of the target; and then I got distracted by that fire thingy you did—"

"A jutsu," he supplied.

"—yeah that. Anyway, my hand and foot slipped, and that kunai did as well I guess."

He sighed at my explanation, and just gave me this look of _'you're-such-an-idiot'_.

"Yeah, I know, I know—now can you get me some bandages? My hand is starting to really hurt here."

He nodded, but took a closer look at the cut just before he left.

"Sana," he said, eyebrows furrowed, "I don't think a bandage is going to cut it—you might need stich—!"

"Band-aids," I cut him off, eyes boring into his eerily, "a band-aid _will_ be enough."

"Sure," he muttered, giving me a weird look, before walking off to go wherever it was the medical supplies were.

…

It was a few hours after my little 'training incident', and I now had a newly disinfected, wrapped, and treated hand.

It still was throbbing, but at least the bleeding died down enough to be bearable.

I was now outside, sitting in the same clearing I was in only hours before. My hands were tucked in recently adorned shorts—courtesy of the spare clothes I found in one of the neighboring houses—and my back was pressed against the trunk of a tree. It was beautiful outside—and the only thing I needed now was a book to make this moment cliché.

But instead, I chose to watch the Uchiha beat stuff up.

Sasuke himself had still wanted to train, and trailed out back to the clearing shortly after giving me bandages.

He said something about _'sparring matches tomorrow'_, and _'need to beat his opponent'_.

Well, whatever it was he was talking about, I still remained outside, watching as the clouds drifted by each time he spewed fire over the lake.

He seemed so serious, and by the intense determination that was set in his eyes, I could tell it was real and not just some illusion.

Looking at my hand, I bit my lip—before gazing back and the kicking and punching form of Sasuke.

_'I need some of the determination too, if I'm ever going to help around here.'_

Closing my eyes, my thought was interrupted by the sound of my gurgling stomach.

_'But first,'_ I stated, blushing slightly, _'I need some food.'_

Standing up slowly, I lent on the trunk of the tree, brushing off leaves and dirt from my clothes as I did so.

Pulling the hair from my face, I venture closer to Sasuke, ready to ask—or according to my stomach, demand—to go get some food.

I would, however, just run back inside the house and grab some myself, but to put it simply—there was none left.

And, to put it even more simply, I had eaten the rest myself.

Now, it wasn't like there was a lot left in the refrigerator—or the cabinet for that matter—so the only remains had been rice, a bag of these oddly flavored chips, and carrots; whatever else had been in there went towards Sasuke's lunch.

That, and I didn't know how to use chopsticks.

So, I did what any other girl in my position would do; ask the eight year old if we can get take out.

And surprisingly, he nodded.

…

"So," I said, trying to start a conversation as we walked through the bustling streets, "what kind of food do you want to get?"

From where he was walking in front of me, Sasuke gave me a backward glance, before speaking in an offhand tone, "doesn't matter—just somewhere cheap."

Giving him a scowl, I blew some hair out of my face, before muttering, "You're no fun."

My eyes took in the brightly lit lanterns that filed through the air, giving the setting sky a brighter tone. Breathing it all in, I smiled slightly, wondering just how beautiful a place could get.

"Hey, watch it!" an irritated voice shouted at a passing by man.

"How about _you_ watch it, ya jerk!" the man shouted back.

Sweatdropping, I backpedaled quickly on my last thought, _'nevermind.'_

There were a few more grumpy people like the two men, and some overly snooty woman, but otherwise, the scenery was overwhelmingly delightful.

"Sana," a voice called, and I turned to see Sasuke looking at me expectantly, like he had asked me a question.

"Uh, what did you say?" I asked, surprisingly sheepish.

He rolled his eyes, before parting his lips to reply, "pick a place around here—we only have a while before the sun sets."

Blinking, I nodded, before turning around to scour out food.

My eyes landed on a certain sign that almost seemed familiar in a way; I couldn't read it of course, but the colors and the design seemed like I've seen it before.

"There," I pointed, starting to walk towards it before he said no.

And knowing him, he probably would have.

Falling into step beside me, he reached the curtains to the stall first, raising them up, before placing himself at the counter.

Blinking at how fast he was moving, I rushed to stand beside him, not wanting to be left out of anything.

"Welcome," and old man smiled, leaning across the counter, "how can I help you?"

My face lit up instantly when I realized just exactly who was talking.

Sasuke peered back at me for a second, as if to ask what I wanted without making it seem like he was crazy and just talking to the air.

I shrugged, choosing to look away when he scowled.

"Two miso ramen to go," He replied to the man without missing a beat.

Watching as the man accepted the money Sasuke gave him, I tuned out the rest of the conversation—or what was left of it—to look around the tiny stall.

_'I can't believe I picked that ramen place Naruto always goes to,'_ I thought to myself, peering back at the kitchen from behind the counter, _'what was it called again? Ichiraku?'_

Seconds after, a loud, boisterous, and familiar voice rang through the air: "Hey old man! Pork miso ramen for here please!"

Already, I knew who that voice belonged to, and I could tell from Sasuke's annoyed expression, that I was correct.

"Naruto my boy!" Teuchi called back, smile gracing his face, "gimme a second—I'm with a customer!"

"Sure thing," was the reply, and Naruto's face went from smiling to completely bewildered upon sight of _who_ the customer was.

_'Good thing he can't see me,'_ I thought, pulling out the chair in front of me and sitting, amused by the turn of events,_ 'this ought to be funny.'_

Looking back at Sasuke, I could tell I was right.

"Eh! Teme!?"

"Hn. Dobe."

_'Ah, the famous nicknames,' _I mused, smiling_, 'but why do I get the feeling I'll be hearing them more often?'_

Naruto's face was completely confused, and he pointed as Sasuke accusingly, "What exactly are _you_ doing here?"

Sasuke, in turn, looked down-right agitated, eye twitching slightly at Naruto's loudness—I couldn't blame him, really.

"Getting food," he responded, holding up a bag of what I thought to be our take-out.

Before Naruto could utter—more like _shout_—another word, Sasuke promptly left, causing me to leap of the chair and rush after him—or more or so, the _food_.

"Wait up!" I hissed through my teeth, swerving around some merchants to avoid crashing into their cart of merchandise.

…

It was night now—the sun had gone down, and the only light that shown through the windows were that of the moon.

The living room was dark; shadow's lingering in every corner. It might've been creepy, but with the TV playing random episodes and cartoons, it seemed almost quaint in a way.

I sat on the floor behind the coffee table, holding the tiny cup of noodles like my life depended on it—and according to my stomach, it apparently did.

Sasuke sat on the couch to my left, still rather annoyed with what happened at the ramen stall.

"You should eat the ramen before your glare shrivels the noodles up Sasuke."

"Hn."

Rolling my eyes, I wondered how he even became friends with Naruto in the first place.

_'Well,'_ I thought to myself_, 'in a few years, I guess I'll find out.'_

Looking from Sasuke, to the TV, and finally to my cup of ramen, I realized something.

_'I don't have a spoon.'_

With masked horror written across my face, I looked around the room quickly, scanning to see if there even _was_ one.

_'Oh no,'_ I muttered internally, doom clear in my features_, 'there's no spoon—and I don't know _how_ to use chopsticks._

Sighing, I gave in to my horrid fate, and placed my hands on the chopsticks resting on the space in front of me.

_'I'm doomed,'_ I told myself, picking them up with my uninjured hand, completely clueless on how to use them.

I tried to pick the ramen up by scooping a noddle at a time with the stick; but it would only result in the noodle falling off.

Groaning, I put the steamy cup back on the table, before laying my head on the area next to it in defeat.

"What are you—?" Sasuke tried to ask, but I cut him off in one quick reply.

"Starving."


	6. Chapter 5: Childish Beginnings

**Chapter 5  
**

_First Person POV_

****Warning! This Chapter doesn't have a central plot—its intended purpose is to wrap up all the little stories from ages 8-12, so things I write in the near future will all make sense. This will be the last chapter before the start of the actual main arc, so its length will be pretty much longer than normal. It will show character development, personality, and information regarding any question you might possibly have!****

**Age 8—Sana **

You can't expect things to just resolve on their own.

I realized this as my second week in another dimension came and passed.

And in that week, I also realized I needed a different approach to everything—I needed to get a new outlook.

So far, my only progress was the fact that Sasuke was more open—more emotional, freer in a sense.

But that's the thing; from what I could tell, that was only around me—and, well, it was probably due to him having no choice otherwise.

Of course he was still the downright moody and arrogant boy to begin with, but it was more diluted.

I didn't know how he was in the general public.

_Oh, but I could guess._

Even _more_ reserved, _more_ arrogant, _more_ moody, and _more_ closed off.

Call me paranoid, or a lunatic even, for wanting the Uchiha to have a happy life—but me helping prevent his downfall was the only reason I was _alive_.

And I'd be _damned_ if I were to let this second chance be all for nothing.

So I did what any other rational fifteen-year-old girl stuck in an eight year old body could do in my situation.

I began going to the academy with him again.

...

"What do you think you're doing?" was the first thing I heard as I stood outside on the porch, lunchbox in hand, with a second one to spare.

My pale brown hair was brushed neatly, long tresses reached the middle of my back, while my naturally parted bangs hung over my face; and on top of that, I even had on new clothes that were recently discovered in one of the worn down shops.

Face clean, teeth brushed, and eyes alight in determination, I grinned rather _too_ widely towards the boy staring at me dubiously.

Straightening my gray shirt, and fixing my shorts, I gave him another overly stretched grin, before watching with evident mirth as his face dropped at my answer.

"Why, going to the academy with you, of course."

"…What?" he asked, stock still.

Pushing a lunch box into his chest—filled with the groceries that were recently bought—I used that as a distraction to start dragging him towards the place in question, refusing to be told I couldn't go.

"Let's go! If I don't, my second chance would be a waste. And we can't that happening, right?"

He stumbled behind me, completely bewildered.

"What—no—Sana—wait!"

Ignoring him, I raced pass the gates of the compound—the gates I haven't been free from in over two weeks. The sense of newly found independence made my bored and overly trained mind clearer, and my eyes were now shining greatly.

The sun was amazingly bright—the sky such a clear shade of blue.

Wind whipped through my hair and seemed to dance around me.

I only thought one thing as I continued my pace—_running felt wonderful._

My littler legs traveled at a speed that had been developed through various laps around the house while Sasuke was away doing whatever, and I couldn't have been more proud of myself.

_'__Boredom sure has its perks,' _I mused, grin still stretched into place.

Sasuke was still grumbling behind me, but the overwhelming excitement to finally go outside into the village blocked it out.

Eyes landing on the school, I quickened my pace, all but carrying the Uchiha at this point.

By memory of the last time I visited all those weeks ago, I turned that once sharp turn again, and zoomed straight for the classroom I knew was his.

Screeching to a halt, I caught Sasuke by the shoulder before he could trip and make a fool of himself, making a beeline towards a seat before he could turn to tell me to go home.

'_Psh, as if I'd listen at this point anyway.'_

I felt his growing glare as he sat next to me; totally oblivious to the questioning stares he got from the students around him.

I gave him an innocent look, before mouthing, "It's all for your benefit—you need to be more social."

His glare lessened, and he seemed more confused.

"What?" he mouthed back.

Shaking my head, I waved him off, mouthing, "you'll find out eventually."

And then class began.

**Age 8—Sana **

It has now been a full month since I've been in the company of the Uchiha, and I had more plans set, ready for action.

But they were for an older me—a more _ninja experienced_ me.

Besides that, it had also been a full three weeks since I started tagging along for the academy with Sasuke.

It was…_eventful_…to say the least.

Of course, he'd still glare at me, or even scowl, but he was slowly getting used to the fact that 'his invisible ghost roommate'—as he put it—was tagging along now.

I've learned a few things—like how chakra works, and how to properly throw a kunai, and even shuriken.

And, well, I've learned a few other things as well.

The biggest thing I learned was that Sasuke didn't just have a club of girls dedicated to making him theirs, but an _army_.

After seeing them, I realized exactly why the poor boy remained even more stoic than necessary.

It was just downright frightening.

And when I noticed that the mass of love-struck girls started to sneak into the compound, I knew I was surrounded by psychos.

Let's just hope they couldn't detect me, because I'd be even more dead if they found out exactly where I _lived_, and who I lived _with_.

Thank _god_ for being invisible—or rather, _Death_.

Back to the topic at hand, my skills with all this ninja business was sharpening—gaining a little bit in strength each passing moment.

I wasn't the very _best_, but I certainly wasn't the absolute _worst_.

I was average, to say the least.

And average isn't exactly what my plans called for to proceed to be a success.

Because these _plans_, so to speak, called for some dangerous business—or rather, _company_.

And to survive this whole idea of mine, I couldn't be the weakest link in the chain.

So I marched straight outside every available time I had—and I trained with whatever I knew how to do over—and over—again.

…

**Age 8—Sana **

'_Why am I even going through this hell?'_

Currently, it was a rather hot, humid day in fire country—the hottest we'd had all summer.

Or, at least that's what Iruka had said today. He had also said to stay inside—so no one would get heat stroke.

And guess which idiot had forgot this tidbit of information and set outside anyway?

That's right, me.

And, well, Sasuke too—but in his defense, I annoyed the heck out of him until he taught me this 'tai-jutsu' thing that we were discussing today.

Because heaven knows I couldn't copy every note down.

'_I should learn how to write in kanji,'_ I thought, going through another form. Bending my legs in an almost impossible—impossible for me, that is—position, I wiped some sweat from my forehead as I swung my other leg into a high kick. I began circling around the tall log, before cartwheeling backwards.

I landed on the needle like grass with a loud '_thump'_ shortly after.

I sighed, resigning to just take a break; I obviously had no strength left, and I absolutely refused to push myself any further.

Pushing myself up and taking another long heave of dry air, I dragged my limp body back to the main house—practically ready to keel over.

'_I can sense it—I'm melting.'_

Swinging the door of my destination open loudly, I shut it just as quickly, relishing in the mass of cold air that fluttered around me.

Slinking my back against the doorframe, I sunk down the side, moaning in happiness.

"This is truly what heaven feels like."

Opening my eyes as another person entered the room, I was greeted by an amused, yet arrogant, look.

"I told you it was hot out—that's why you should've left when I did." Sasuke stated dryly, arms crossed.

"You didn't tell me anything," I argued, denying the fact altogether.

Rolling his eyes at my stubbornness—which was a bit hypocritical on his part—he turned on his heel and walked down the hallway to go probably retreat into his room.

"Go take a shower—you smell." Was what he left me with, and I started fuming where I sat.

"Thank you for that needed piece of commentary," I grumbled down the hall, quickly slinking into the shower, and out just as fast.

My brain wasn't really in the mood for any more work—let alone sass—so as soon as I was dressed in a newly found blank, gray shirt and matching pants, I slumped into the couch, feeling like a lump of exhaustion.

There was a grunt that came from my left, but I just ignored it, choosing rather to just sink into myself and _sleep_.

If sitting next to me bothered him, then _he_ could move.

With that thought, and heavy eyelids, I sunk into unconsciousness.

And I really wished I _hadn't_.

...

_The sky was a dusty gray—storm clouds brewing along the skyline of the skyscrapers surrounding me. Noises were blaring left and right, and the only thing I could concentrate on was that I needed to _go_. All I knew was something or someone was gone, missing, and I needed to go and get help._

_A nagging voice in my head franticly shouted to hurry, hurry before it was too late. And I wanted desperately wanted to shout back 'why?'_

_Something next to me buzzed, shifted, crackled, and above me someone screeched, breathing panicked and eyes wide._

"_Lookout!"_

_My eyes were torn from the pointing person above me to this mass of something standing in the middle of a street, stock still out of fear._

_I dropped whatever heavy thing I had in my hands—plans of my need to find the someone or something forgotten, all placed on this thing that was in immediate danger in the middle of the street._

_Someone else was screaming my name, shouting until their lungs were hoarse, telling me to stop. Other voices drowned out theirs, all doing the same in a sense—screaming till their voices were hoarse and shaky._

_And I ignored it, mind solely focused on saving this mass of gray._

_I couldn't remember what made me run—and it was irritating. One minute my body was glued to the pavement beneath me, and the next, it was in motion, adrenaline pumping sadistically through my veins._

_Eyes wide and alert, I realized the mass wasn't just a mass, but a person—more specifically, a kid._

_And the thing that was the danger was a speeding truck._

_The seconds passing by seemed to slow—as did everything around me. Moving in slowed motion, my hands barely reached the shocked kid as I pushed them to the safety of the other sidewalk, trembling and falling to the ground as their fearful gaze met mine. _

_Our eyes were locked for a split second, yet it felt like decades. I looked into his familiar onyx eyes, seeing other things that seemed familiar too. _

_The most frightening of familiarity that this kid—no—_boy_—had was clutched in his hands._

_But I barely got to do anything as something large, white, and painful plowed straight into my side._

_I let off a high-pitched scream as the tires screeched wildly on the asphalt, and the pounding of footsteps came closer._

"_NO! Susana!"_

_Head lolling to the side, I caught hold of the frantic women I had seen before, her faced still blurred beyond recognition._

"_Please," she said cried, grabbing my hand and wiping something sticky from my forehead, "Susana, _please_. don't take her away—please, god, no. Please."_

_Another squeeze to my limp hands, and I felt like almost crying with this women._

"_Please don't take my daughter away from me!"_

_Eyes wide at the statement, I tried to focus on her face, but could still only see the blurry features instead._

_Feeling myself slowly giving out to the pain that flared in every corner of my body, my gaze fell on that boy once more—or more pointedly, the object he had—and I like the rest of the noise and scenes around me, I faded._

_And the wails erupted painfully and strong as soon as I did._

_..._

Sucking in a rather deep gasp of air, I bolted straight up, eyes wild and heart beating faster than normal.

"A dream," I muttered, gaze flicking from every inch of the room to the other, "It was—just—just a dream."

The room was only illuminated by the light of the moon outside; a fan in the corner of the room buzzing loudly and the blades whirred.

Despite how calm and peaceful the setting was, I couldn't stop the adrenaline that still seemed to course in my veins.

The memory of pain still settled deep into my bones, and I grabbed my knees to balance myself on the couch before I could flop over.

Trying to calm my breathing and nerves, I glanced over to the tense and shining in a clammy sweat Uchiha next to me—seeming to be having some nightmares himself tonight too.

Eyebrows furrowing in thought, I wonder how I hadn't noticed his nightmares before, but paused the thought as another one passed through my mind.

'_He looks an awful lot like the one boy from my dream—could that just be a coincidence?'_

Feeling my hands tremble, I gripped my knees tighter, looking up at the clock on the side wall.

'_But that boy holding a Naruto manga book sure wasn't one.'_

…

**Age 8—Sana **

The dream from a while ago still plagued my mind throughout the rest of the week, and I'm sure this didn't go unnoticed by the sole person who could see for himself that I was off.

Sasuke didn't comment too much on what was distracted me, but he sure was a lot nicer throughout the week regardless.

As great as that was, I still couldn't shake off the thought of getting plowed by a truck—or, the fact, that it might be a step closer to the actual way I ended up like this—_dead_.

What irked me though, was the fact that the person I saved held a resemblance to the person I was trying to save now—and the fact he had a Naruto manga with him just made me want answers more.

Because _that_ little tidbit of information was too ridiculous to be a coincidence.

'_I need to speak with death—but how do I do that without actually dying?'_

I would soon find out that I would meet with him soon enough.

...

Today started out relatively normal; I had woken up, shuffled towards the kitchen in a tired fashion, and promptly plopped at the table with a bowl of breakfast all within an hour. The sun had just risen, and I wouldn't have to go to the academy for another hour.

That had given me an hour of practically nothing to do—and I was elated at that fact.

I was even _more_ elated when Sasuke came shuffling in a while later, informing me of how there was no academy today, since it was the weekend.

Day dreaming at the thought of a whole _two days_ to catch up on sleep, I had murmured a silent prayer of thanks to the lord above as I relaxed into my chair, ready to go and make that day dream a reality.

Just as I was about to set back towards the couch, I had stopped dead still as I watched Sasuke yawn, before going in the opposite direction—heading straight for the door with every single thing he needed for training.

Slumping into myself, I had turned back around and placed one foot in front of the other, heading into the same direction as he was with dread.

This was the start of the nightmare.

Of course, I could have just did as I wanted—but training was initially more important.

So, I followed out of curiosity, wondering slightly what new thing I could learn in only one day; that, and he still owed me from buying the groceries a while back.

And trust me, I expected to be paid in full for that catastrophic experience.

I had continued walking till we were in the middle of the training field, raring to go as my body woke up more.

My mind tried to process something—anything—to beg Sasuke to teach me, and in a matter of seconds, a light bulb had formed above my head.

A great, yet very risky thought.

Standing on the balls of my feet, I had faced the expectant Uchiha with a large grin on my face.

"Hey," I had said, "remember how you owe me for buying the groceries?"

Sighing, he had nodded, looking rather defeated.

It's like he had known right away what I was going to ask.

"Teach me how to use chakra."

And he had agreed.

That was the first factor leading to my problem.

The second was my apparent lack of knowledge of how this 'chakra' would affect a person like me.

The third? My current predicament.

'_Breathe in,'_ I told myself_, 'find my sense of gravity, and let it spread.'_

Everything was going fine; I had listened to Sasuke's thirty minute lecture on what chakra was, and then his twenty minute one on how to use it.

He told me to meditate, find that center of gravity, and let it spread throughout my being, before setting off to go train his skills with taijutsu.

So I remained where I sat, sitting Indian style, listening and waiting, calming my nerves and allowing myself to focus.

I hadn't the slightest clue as to what I was supposed to feel; all I knew was that if i wanted to protect the future, I had to make this work.

I repeated those words in my mind like a mantra, letting that determination of saving everyone take hold and guide me through whatever it was that I was doing.

I found what I was searching for—this blob in the center of my stomach, which pooled with this bright energy that seemed so warm and easy to manipulate.

Who knew it could be so deadly?

Not me.

If I had been paying close attention, I would have realized the sheer power the chakra held, and how strange it was to have been like that in the first place.

But completely wrapped up by the fact that I was using the one thing I had wanted and needed to learn to use since arriving, I ignored it.

And continued.

I did what I was taught, let it spread throughout my being—extend and grow so I could build up my reserves and control.

The spreading had been easy. My tiny pool of chakra seemed like it wanted to expand, go out and increase.

The reigning it back in had been my downfall.

I tried to grab ahold of it, bring it back in, but it wasn't responding. My control over it was lost.

'_No,'_ I thought in blind panic, feeling it spread outside of my body and into the air around me, _'I lost it—I can't control it!'_

A sharp tingling sensation started to grow along with the massive amount of spiritual energy around me, suffocating me to the point where I was gasping.

'_Oh god,'_ I realized, sinking to my knees as breathing became something I just couldn't do, _'I—I'm dying.'_

The chakra grew past my fingertips, a light wind started to fly swiftly around me.

Hair whipping out of my hair-tie and into loose strands against my struggling figure, my green eyes squeezed shut in pain.

Someone shouted my name, and I made a move to try and respond, but the lack of air hindered my vocal chords; so I was left sitting there, practically half-conscious.

There was this sudden flash of white as the scenery faded, and I let loose a hoarse scream as the air returned and the pain intensified.

My last thought was of confusion and concerned onyx eyes.

...

"Wake up child—there is no danger here anymore," an old voice rasped, willing my eyes to open with its familiarity.

Gasping at the sight of a scythe, I quickly scrambled up from my spot on the solid, rock floor, staring straight into the eyes of the person responsible for my 'second chance'.

"Hello," he spoke, standing to his full height, "it is a pleasure—well, almost a pleasure—to see you again Ms. Flynn."

Stuttering out incoherent nothings, I finally found my voice, "Death," I greeted, staring into his hooded face.

Looking around at the same candle-lit room I had found myself in only a little while ago, I gulped, fearing the worst, "am I—?"

"No, I brought you here." He replied, seeming to grow more serious, "but if I hadn't reached you in time, you would have been. Permanently."

Nodding, I felt my eyebrows furrow in confusion, "what exactly happened? All I remember was chakra and pain."

His bony hands gripped the staff of his scythe tightly, as if the thought was troubling, before loosening their hold. He sighed, "you unlocked a part of yourself I had hidden for your safety. Your reserves for chakra aren't fully developed, therefore I had a storage of nature chakra in you and around you to keep you alive—if I hadn't, you would've been dead just by setting foot into that world."

"What?" I questioned, perplexed and a little apprehensive.

"The overload of spiritual energy would've suffocated you—as it did merely seconds ago. That is why I must inform you to not use it until you are ready." he continued, tone sage and solemn.

Feeling numb, I ran a hand through my hair—something I did when nervous.

"So," I began, "you're saying I can't use chakra? Ever?"

'_If the answer's yes, then my future is doomed.'_

"No," he said to my complete and utter relief, "in time, and with proper training, you will be able to use your chakra." He replied, now turning to face me fully.

Sighing, I realized I wasn't going to be completely useless.

'_But wait, did he say…?'_

"Proper training?" I questioned, feeling even more puzzled, before laughing, "From _who_? _You_?"

Death actually paused completely, seeming to take my words into consideration.

I froze, horror lacing my features.

'…_Oh no.'_

"Yes actually, in time, like mentioned, I will train you—and I will teach you how to control your uncontrollable chakra."

I deadpanned, looking at him with an expression that read definite despair.

"Trust me," he muttered, as if he knew something I didn't—which was most likely the case, "you'll be able to use your abilities to their fullest potential—just be patient. The time for when you must learn to hone your skills will be a dark one indeed. Enjoy the time you have now."

Nodding, still uncertain of his words, I chose for now to believe him.

Dipping his head in return, he tapped his scythe against the ground, and immediately black dots flooded my vision.

"Take care Ms. Flynn—there is someone on the other side who's waiting for you. I'll be seeing you shortly."

Suddenly remembering the question of my dream from a few nights ago, and exactly why there were the many unanswered coincidences within it, my eyes widened in recognition—and I opened my mouth hurriedly to speak.

But before I could utter a single syllable, I was whisked off back to my new dimension—my new home.

…

"…Sana?"

There was a hesitant voice, sounding rather worried, and even a touch of concern laced within it.

I felt my shoulders shake, and I realized the person speaking was trying to wake me up.

"Sana! C'mon, get up!" the person shouted, voice evidently getting a little more hysteric, a little more desperate.

'_Is—is that Sasuke?'_ I questioned, eyes still heavily shut.

Coughing slightly, I felt a gust of air fill my lungs, body trembling at the memory of their being a lack of the much needed oxygen.

I heard a sigh of relief come from above me, and I blearily peeked open my eyes in response.

Coughing a bit more, I lolled my head to the side, trying to get a better view of the face above me.

'_Ugh, I feel horrible.' _I thought as my eyes started to focus on obsidian eyes peering back at me.

"S-sasuke? Help me up?" I asked, recognizing the Uchiha finally.

There was a nod, and I grabbed his hand as he pulled me up to my feet—swaying a bit before my sense of balance came back.

"What just happened?" he asked, voice still a bit distressed.

With that, I realized just how much the whole scene seemed to affect the newly orphaned Uchiha.

'_Oh _god_; me being unconscious probably brought up some _really _unwanted memories.' _I realized, and I quickly answered his sentence before any more dark memories surfaced from _that_ night.

"I'm fine—Death got me before anything bad happened—as in, the guy who gave me a second chance—my chakra reserves are just very weak right now; since they were nonexistent in my old life and whatnot. So the overload of chakra was overwhelming. That's all."

His tense shoulders seemed to relax, and relief flooded my veins.

"Let's go back home," I suggested, feeling more worn out than I looked, "I need to sit down for a second—a _long_ second.

Nodding, he fell in step next to me, arms swinging as he walked.

Breathing out, I peeked once more at his pinched face, seeing questions and resolve starting to form there, before looking at the setting sun.

"I'll explain everything better someday, ok?" I murmured, eyes still stuck on the sight of the sunset, "it's just, I don't have the answers myself right now. But I will—and when I do, I'll tell you. I promise."

The interrogations forming in his mind seemed to have completely stopped, and I sighed in relief at the response.

On some level, I knew the questions were going to start popping up sooner rather than later—that things weren't going to be the same anymore.

Let's just hope I could take it.

…

**Age 9—Sana **

It was an average morning—the same bird-chirping, sun-rising morning that I've come accustomed to for the past year.

Groggily rubbing my eyes, I leapt up slowly from my current resting place—the beloved couch—and sauntered my way towards the bathroom before Sasuke took it for himself.

Quickly running through the same routine, I emerged from the bathroom with a slightly better appearance from my half-dead look. Flattening out my spandex shorts, I pulled the ends of the borrowed blue shinobi sandals a little bit higher, grumbling as I hopped from one foot to the other down the hall.

'_I really need to stop borrowing Sasuke's shoes,'_ I thought as the one sandal flew directly off my foot, _'they don't even fit for god's sake.'_

Still grumbling under my breath, I hobbled to the chair, sitting down in it, and proceeding for the millionth time that morning to fix the sandal onto my foot.

Suddenly feeling a grumpy aura other than my own enter the kitchen, I lifted my head in time to connect eyes with onyx ones. Lifting my hand in greeting, I gave a little wave, before going back to fixing my—_his_—dumb old shoes.

"Hn," he stated, shifting away from me and towards the cabinet, grabbing a box of whatever.

'_Hi, good morning Sasuke!'_

'_Good morning, Sana.'_

Or, at least, that's how the conversation should've gone.

Sighing, I stood up, resigned to the fact that I was just going to have to buy my _own_ pair of shoes.

'_How am I going to get the money for _that_?'_ I wondered, biting my lip as I headed for the door.

Sighing, again, I decided to just wing it, and opened the front door, "C'mon Sasuke, we're going to be late!" I shouted, noticing the time.

A pause, and there was still no Sasuke.

Confused, and a bit curious, I walked back into the hall, recognizing the dark figure still in the kitchen.

"Hey, let's go, we're gonna be—!" I started, before realizing he was staring at something on the wall in front of him.

"Sasuke?" I asked; walking a bit closer—concern lacing my tone.

I still got no reply.

Leaning a bit forward, I noticed the thing on the wall was actually a picture—a picture of him and his parents, nonetheless.

Freezing completely as I noticed his lost expression, I saw the emptiness and hatred start to appear in his dull eyes.

'_Oh no,'_ I thought, reaching to touch his shoulder in reaction to seeing the same look from last year, _'I need to snap him out of it.'_

"Hey," I spoke, hand now resting on his shoulder, "Sasuke—!"

He flinched as if startled, and I quickly retracted my hand back to my side.

Confused as to why I was standing here like this, his eyebrows scrunched together, previous emotions fading from his eyes, "Sana?"

Breathing out in relief, I replaced my frown with a slight smile, "We're going to be late, dummy." I stated, turning to gather the lunch boxes and heading out the door.

He was trailing behind me this time, slower than usual—eyes distant and elsewhere.

Smile dropping, I realize he didn't retaliate when I called him 'dummy' or when I told him we were going to be late.

'_Sasuke?'_ I thought, still confused by the change in behavior.

"Are you ok?" I questioned as we walked out of the gates of the large compound, eyes stuck worriedly on his face—waiting for any sudden shift in appearance.

His answer was a simple nod, followed with another one of his famous _hn's, _and I couldn't shake the feeling of something being really, _really_, wrong.

…

The loud clanging of the bell signaled the beginning of class, and the voices hushing as Iruka entered the classroom signaled it was time to listen.

Currently, I sat next Sasuke on the end of the desk, two other unnamed civilian kids taking their positions on the other side of him. Head resting against the wood of the table, I found myself staring at the Uchiha's face—and before you called me a creep, I have a perfect explanation.

I was worried.

He's the only person I've held an actual conversation with for the past year—so of course I could tell if something was wrong.

And right now, he was acting in a way never seen before.

That was explanation enough.

His face was pale, eyebrows pinched together in deep thought, with both his hands folded together in front of him on the desk.

He was obviously brooding over something—and some part of me doubted I could help him with it.

Narrowing my eyes, the same thought rolled through my mind like it had before.

'_Could I really help? Is this second chance going to waste?'_

Feeling a sharp pain in my foot, I jolted up, eyes widening at the look from the boy next to me. Face flushing, I realized Sasuke caught me staring, hence the kick to my foot. Promptly looking away with whatever dignity I had left, I sunk in on myself, feeling deflated.

'_Smooth Flynn—really amazing ninja reflexes ya got there.'_

"Alright class!" a chipper voice announced, the loud noise coming from the front of the room making jolt a bit once more, "we're going to start taijutsu training after lunch! Meet me out at the field outside in orderly fashion later please!"

Eyebrow raised at Iruka's never ending positivity, I slid out of the desk, ready to finally escape and eat. Taking a step and tripping over my—Sasuke's—shoe, I grumbled a stream of profanities that were inaudible in the rising chatter from the kids around me.

Finally balanced with the shoe on tight—so tight the circulation was slowly being cut off—I turned around to walk with Sasuke out the door—only to find him gone.

Dead-panning, my hand formed into a fist out of frustration of being ignored, before I realized that I was the only person left in the room.

"Of course, just leave the dead, invisible girl all by her lonesome—oh, and just take her lunch too, while you're at it." I complained, noticing that the lunchbox I had was also missing.

'_There's no sympathy for me here, is there?' _I thought, walking around the corner to head outside.

Taking another step forward, I felt something smack into my face and bounce right off.

Watching in disbelief as the ball that just smack me rolled away, I deflated once more.

'_There's none; absolutely none.'_

Rubbing a hand down my face, I spotted the mass of familiar, spiky black hair, and stalked angrily off towards the Uchiha in sight.

I only stopped short when I noticed that he was alone.

My heart clenched, and I realized how lonely he must feel.

Taking smaller steps, I glanced at the other kids, all laughing and smiling, and turned back towards him.

Determination forming in my eyes, I found another goal that needed to be accomplished.

"Do you wanna go eat with our classmates? I hear someone's going to try and out eat Chouji!"

I received no reply, not even any acknowledgement, and started to drown in his silence.

Pursing my lips, I felt my shoulders slump in defeat.

Turning away to look at everyone else, I noticed a particular group of boys staring at us—or rather him—but disregarded it quickly as just curiosity.

Giving him one last look, I laid my head back against the wire of the metal fence, not sure how to react towards him anymore.

'_Sasuke,'_ I wondered, confused beyond belief, _'what's wrong with you today?'_

…

"Ok, everyone know the rules?" Iruka asked, standing in the center of the taijutsu ring, "no maiming, no weapons, and no ninjutsu. Are we clear?"

"Hai sensei." The whole class droned, sounding like they've heard this millions of times before.

Iruka smiled, brushing off the fact that their voices lacked enthusiasm, "Then let's start! First match! Yuri vs. Ami! Begin!"

'_Man this guy is perky.'_ I thought with my chin perched on my arm, body lying heavily against the fence once more.

Watching as the fight progressed between the two girls in front of me, I couldn't help but wonder why the seemed to be acting as if their fight was real.

By the end—a short end, I'd like to add—I realized why.

They were trying to impress their beloved 'Sasuke-kun'.

Well, if their heart-shaped eyes and hopeful gazes were anything to go by, then I'd say my deduction was right.

Too bad their 'Sasuke-kun' couldn't care less.

He was propped against the fence too, casually standing there like he didn't have anything better to do. His face has been impassive since lunch, and my worry level was starting to rise.

He also hasn't spoke to me since lunch either.

Which, undoubtedly, has caused my worry level to skyrocket at this point.

Biting my lip as Iruka called another two classmates down to spar, I pondered what exactly made him so upset.

'_Did I do something? Say something? Did someone _else _do something?'_

By time I finished my internal sentence, I was practically screaming on the inside.

'_What the heck happened?!'_

Taking a deep breath, I calmed myself down, taking a rational approach instead.

'_Ok, think back, what caused this to even start?'_

A brief flash of this morning and the picture came to mind, and I stopped still for a few seconds.

'_I'm an idiot.'_

The anniversary of _that_ night was this week. A year ago this week his parents _were killed_—his whole clan _was killed_.

'_He still doesn't trust me enough to tell me why he's upset,'_ I thought, staring at my hands, _'I'm still an outsider to him.'_

I have never felt worse.

'_It's like I'm back at square one.'_

Before I could say anything to him—which probably would've been incoherent nothings anyway—Iruka's announcement of the next spar interrupted.

"Sasuke vs Mako! Begin!"

Head turning quickly towards the ring, I didn't even notice Sasuke leave the fence in the first place.

Standing up, I took a step forward, eyes meeting shortly with Sasuke's.

'_Kick his ass,'_ they read, and the weight that had been pressing down on me floated off my chest when he dipped his head and smirked.

'_I will.'_

Softly smiling, I realized he wasn't too far gone.

Walking a little closer to the ring, I watched as the two boys stood their ground, amazed by the display of taijutsu they were showing.

Mako was a big-boned boy, with full eyebrows, and dark brown, beady eyes. Taking a closer look, I realized he was also a part of the group of boys staring at us at lunch earlier.

His frame showed he was a brawler, and the arrogant look he held when fighting showed that he knew it too.

Too bad his arrogance was overshadowed by Sasuke's.

Mako went in for an uppercut—but it was sloppy, slow, giving enough time for Sasuke to dodge and then attack.

Watching as Sasuke's foot connected with the larger boy's face, I grimaced as he fell to the ground, clutching his jaw.

"Winner: Sasuke Uchiha!"

The match had only been five minutes long, leaving the rest of the class shocked. The first people to seem to recover had been the girls, all clapping and cheering on their 'Sasuke-kun'.

Mako, red with embarrassment and clutching a bruised jaw, scowled, eyes filled with anger.

"I'll get you back Uchiha, you just wait! You won't be so tough then!"

Sasuke scoffed, completely disregarding the threat, before stepping out of the ring, only proceeding in making the red faced boy even redder.

Looking as the ego the Uchiha had only swelled, I face palmed—though, relieved he wasn't devoid of emotion anymore.

…

"Ya know, you should really teach me how to use taijutsu," I chattered to Sasuke as we both walked home from the academy, "I mean, at least spar with me or something."

I was met with a look of _'you'd lose'_ in response, and I huffed.

"How else am I going to get better then?! There is literally no one else to teach me!" I practically shouted, before being cut off as a rock landed close to my feet.

"Huh?" I questioned, looking at the rock and then back at Sasuke, "did the rock just—?" I was cut off mid-sentence by another rock sailing through the air, this time aimed more precise. Dodging it, I looked incredulously at the owner of said pebble, growing even more confused.

"Well, well, if it ain't the Uchiha," Mako sneered, his two flanking 'cronies' laughing along with him, "ready to learn your lesson for messing with me?"

'_You…can't be serious,'_ I thought, looking nonplussed, _'this kid is really getting angry over a stupid spar?'_

Shaking my head, I turned to back towards Sasuke, a smile on my face, _'Well, at least I know Sasuke isn't going to play along with this.'_

"It's not exactly messing with you—it's called defeating you." Sasuke shot back, arms folded and arrogance lacing his tone.

Gob smacked, my eyes widened comically, _'he's playing along with this?!'_

Gritting his teeth, a vein started to throb on Mako's head, signaling that he was starting to get angry.

"Get 'im boys!" he raged, sneering as the two other lanky boys cackled and raced towards Sasuke with hands pulled back, ready to punch.

'_He wants revenge and then sends his friends instead? Really?'_

Sasuke, meanwhile, was in position to fight back, eyes narrowed thoughtfully on how he was going to react.

Tense, I felt a prickling sensation on the back of my neck, like a forewarning. Time seemed to slow as I realized _why_.

Mako wasn't going to play fair; three to one wasn't fair already, but there was another dirty trick.

_There's a fourth person._

Rushing forward, I caught sight of the fourth heavyweight boy rushing from behind, arm raised to punch just like the two in front.

Stepping just behind Sasuke as his fist flew, I didn't have enough time to block as his fist connected with my face.

Losing my balance at the sudden blow, I fell to the ground, one hand clutched over my eye as the second one kept me from falling.

The heavyweight boy who punched me fell also, losing his balance from confusion of how his fist connected with 'air' and it was painful.

I would laugh if my face didn't hurt so much.

Time seemed to speed up as Sasuke's wide eyes caught onto the whole scene, and his head jerked to the side while he was distracted due the punch they landed on him.

He took a step back, wiping his sleeve over his split lip, before sneering at Mako.

"You're aren't fighting fair." Sasuke stated, face hard and shoulders tense.

"Tough," was Mako's reply as he crossed his arms, a greedy grin stretched across his chubby face, "it's not my fault the Uchiha are such weaklings; no wonder they were all killed."

'…_Did he?—he just—during the week of the anniversary?—he's dead.' _Was all that my mind could process before Sasuke gave off an enraged yell, pushing past the two cronies and straight for the head honcho—Mako—himself.

A flurry of kicks and punches rained down on the civilian boy, who was too dazed and shocked to dodge.

"Never," Sasuke gritted through his teeth, "insult the Uchiha name, got it?" he glared down at the poor boy, before turning his glare onto the other three.

"_Got it_?" he repeated, still deadly calm, hands formed into fists.

The three cronies screamed, before taking off down the street, leaving Mako behind.

'_What great friends,'_ I commented dryly, noticing how fast they took off.

Sasuke glared once more at Mako, before turning around as the chubby boy fled himself, shouting how 'this wasn't over' and whatnot.

Shaking my head, I kept one hand over my eye, before pushing myself to my feet. Sasuke was by me in a few short steps, eyes ablaze and angry.

"You ok?" I asked again that day, probably for the third time.

"Yeah," he breathed, lip still bleeding from where he got hit.

Shocked at the honest answer, I smiled, before cringing when my left eye throbbed.

There was a pause, and I heard a snort. Immediately I glared at its source.

"What?" I asked, scowl set in place and aimed directly at the Uchiha

He kept walking; smirk set in place, before glancing over once more, "You look like an idiot."

I crossed my arms, scowling intensely, "Just be thankful I took that hit for you alright? I could've just sat there and minded my own business, but no; I was being nice and saving you, you jerk."

I continued walking—more like stomping—down the dirt street, fuming at the nerve he had, when I stopped completely at his response.

"Thank you, Sana."

Turning around to stare at him with wide, green eyes, my jaw hit the ground in surprise, "What did you just say?"

"Hn." He grunted, continuing to walk back home

Sighing, I smiled softly, before following after him.

'_Maybe things _are _starting to get better. Slowly.'_

**Age 9—Sana**

It was mid-afternoon; the same beautiful lanterns were strewn across the streets just like they had when I first arrived here. And the busy streets were just as loud too.

Of course, I should've been in the academy around now—but, to be technical, I wasn't really a student there.

Also, they didn't know I even existed.

So, today was officially my day off—and to be technical once more, it really wasn't. You see, I was on a mission; not one from the Hokage or anything.

Because, well, I'm not a ninja yet, and they don't know I exist.

No, this mission was a personal one made by me.

And what was this mission, you ask?

To survive the markets and get groceries.

Also, to find some clothes—but only if I had enough money left over. Sasuke had been rather stingy with how much he gave me, so I doubt I'd get anything over five dollars' worth of new clothes.

But hey, food is more important, right?

Slinking down further into the loud street square, I noticed one food stand looking completely empty, and decided to start there first.

We had food still in the cabinets—heaps of it from our latest adventure in the market—where Sasuke was stalked by his fan club—so I had another motive for being here.

I was going to make dinner.

Because what else am I supposed to do when it's the anniversary of the Uchiha massacre? Write a poem?

Honestly, this was the only I idea I had. It wasn't going to be all extravagant, with steak and other expensive meat.

No, it would be simple—because I didn't know how to cook, and it would be a lot better than the take-out we were living off of.

Plus, I figured it would be nice. And the fried rice was calling my name.

Sneaking past a group of old ladies and moms, I silently reached for a bag of said rice—lying the money needed to pay for it on the counter next to me; a trick i learned after my first grocery-shopping fiasco.

Just because I was invisible, didn't mean I should _steal_.

Well, I _could_—but I feel like my karma was bad enough.

'_I should probably start using that to my advantage,'_ I mused, aimlessly looking at the various produce.

"Oh my, have you heard?" they old lady to my left spoke up in a hushed whisper, gaining my attention, "today's the anniversary of the Uchiha massacre."

Stopping mid reach towards the tomatoes, I swiveled my head towards the conversation, taking a step forward to listen better.

"Is it?" the second lady replied, looking slightly younger, "what a tragedy that was."

'_You have no idea._' I thought, picking up the tomatoes swiftly and laying another amount of money on the counter.

"Indeed," the old women agreed sagely, fixing the pale blue skirt she was wearing and wiping off dust, "I wonder how the last survivor is doing? What was his name again?"

Shifting my bag, I commented without realizing, "Sasuke—his name's Sasuke."

Covering my mouth in horror, I turned quickly to see if they noticed that the person talking wasn't actually 'there'.

To my utter relief, they didn't.

"Ah, yes! Sasuke is his name," she exclaimed, snapping her fingers, before gaining a sad look, "poor boy lost everything."

"Yeah," the middle aged women supplied, handing the money for her groceries to the older lady, "let's hope he just doesn't turn out like his older brother."

Closing my eyes, before turning and picking up the basket I had of food, I left quietly, still invisible and unnoticed.

'_He won't—I'll do everything I can to make sure of it.'_

…

I was sweating, hands aching, and head throbbing. I felt as if I just went through a battle—_and lost. _

Well, considering the shape the kitchen was in, I guess I really did lose.

'_At least dinner is ready?'_

The sweet smell of fried rice wafted through the air, followed shortly after by the chicken and the tomatoes.

I may not know how to cook, but I sure do know how to read a cookbook.

Grabbing two plates and loading them with food, I placed them on the coffee table in the living room—grumbling as I placed the chopsticks there as well.

'_It's been a year, and I still don't know how to use them. That's actually quite pitiful.'_

Everything was in place; well almost everything. There was still the fact that the kitchen was in shambles, and my hair was sticking up in weird spots, and, also, Sasuke Uchiha was still missing.

But hey, a girl can dream right?

Looking at the clock, I sighed as I placed my hair in a high ponytail—before shifting out of the weird apron I was wearing and moving towards the door.

'_I guess I should go look for him.'_

Pulling the door open, I was suddenly blinded by the bright sunset, and paused as I saw storms clouds start to gather in the sky.

Sliding it shut, I ran down the porch, completely ignoring the fact that I wasn't wearing shoes, and ran down the compound's street. Eyes dusting over every square inch in sight, I took a deep gasp of air, pausing to think where exactly he'd be.

A single raindrop splattered on my forehead, and as if it was a light bulb that had gone off.

I understood where he'd gone.

Rolling up my sleeves, I pushed my bangs out of my eyes, before speeding quickly down the road, heading onto the main street just outside the compound.

Rain started to pick up then, making the path muddy and slippery. Every inch of the road was filled with grumpy and rushing people, all trying to get out of the rain themselves.

A few market vendor's cart's almost managed to clip my feet as I slipped past them, and I couldn't help but sigh in relief as they managed to miss every time.

"Almost there," I panted, rain blurring my vision, "almost there." I repeated, picking up the pace.

Turning sharply around a corner, I dodged quickly as I lady and her child barreled past, screaming something about her hair getting wet and the kid screaming just as loud.

Managing a few more steps, I reached the edge of the field, pausing shortly to see if I was right—if this is where he was.

And when I saw the bright red and white fan symbol among all the stone and grass, directly in front of the memorial stone, I realized I was right.

Leaping over a pile of mud, I took a few more running steps, before slowing as I neared him, not sure how to approach.

Biting my lip, I took another tentative step—and then another—and another—until I was right next to him, glancing subtly at his face.

I was face to face with the memorial stone myself now, glancing over all the kanji of the names of the people the village lost.

Noticing as he traced two names in particular, I realized which exactly his parents were.

Wiping my soaked hair once again away from my face, I pursed my lips, realizing I had no idea what to say—or do for that matter.

So I let my instinct take over.

"Sasuke?" I asked, hesitantly at first, before turning soft as his eyes slide over to mine.

His face was streamed with a mix of tears and rain, the rims of his eyes red from pain and loss. There was the hate there again, the emptiness, the thirst for revenge.

And I found myself at a loss for words on how to make things better.

"Let's go home," I said, hand outstretched, not sure how he respond, before my mind fizzled and I started rambling, "I made dinner—which might be bad or might be good—it's a matter of opinion—and it has tomatoes too—because you mentioned you like tomatoes on your birthday last year—the women at the food stand mentioned rice was a good ingredient too—but I don't really know how to make rice—so I used the cookbook—and the kitchen is in shambles—so I'll need to clean that—don't go in there—and—!"

I stopped short when I felt a hand take my own outstretched one, and I paused mid-rant before smiling softly, turning back around and voyaging home.

'_It's going to be fine—things are going to be fine.'_

Looking back once more—just to see if things were alright—I noticed a faint smile on his face; one that I had only seen once before.

It was bright, showing a hope for the future, hope for his future.

And I couldn't help the painful pang my chest gave in response to it.

Glancing down at the road, I couldn't help but wonder what that was all about.

"Now, what's wrong with the kitchen, exactly?" Sasuke voice rang out, sounding a bit hoarse, but definitely more light.

Eyes wide, I suppressed the pangs enough to let out a small squeak of _'Nothing! Nothing is wrong with the kitchen!'_

Watching the smile on his face stay a true one—even for a little longer—I couldn't help the smile of my own in return.

'_Things are definitely going to be alright—and hopefully, they'll stay that way.'_

Another breathy laugh escaped my lips, and the mourning sky started to clear with each step back to the compound.

'_Hopefully.' _

**Age 9—Sana **

It was another one of those mid-afternoon days; and to make it even better, there was no academy.

Sasuke, being the person he is, stalked outside to train instead of lounging—muttering something about becoming stronger.

I wasn't too worried, only because ever since the day in the rain at the memorial stone, I realized I needed to put more faith in him—more faith in the fact that I can't control everything, and that I'm doing all that I can.

So if he wants to be moody and go train? Let him. More room inside from me to act like a slug.

'_You have started to become out of shape though,' _I thought to myself, frowning, _'I think it's time you start training as well.'_

Groaning into the couch cushion, I rolled onto my feet, before stretching. Hearing a satisfying '_crack'_, I grinned, ready to head out the door.

Right as I took a step, a sharp pain exploded in the back of my head, black dots taunting and dancing across my vision. Feeling weightless, I registered the fact that I fell, and landed on the couch.

Sinking further into the darkness, I couldn't help but think _'what the hell?'_ before losing consciousness completely.

…

The feeling out weightlessness was back, but now full force. My eyes were still closed, and everything was still dark, but I could tell I wasn't falling.

I was floating maybe? Hovering?

I couldn't tell, and frankly, I didn't want to.

Irony is a cruel thing, isn't it?

"Hello, Susana Flynn," Death spoke, voice authoritative and deep, "welcome to your dreamscape."

Feeling the weights on my eyelids lift, my eyes popped open in response, mind dizzy and limbs numb.

Groaning, I turned on my side, before using my arms to push myself up. Glancing around, I noticed the barren room I was in, a pearly white sort of hue to the walls.

"Hello to you Death," I muttered, turning my unenthusiastic gaze on him, "now why am I here?"

Under his hood, I could just tell that Death's expression was sheepish, "It was an accident at first—but I see now that bringing you here did serve a purpose."

Practically face-faulting, I wondered what he meant by accident?

'_Pulling a person out of their dimension and to—to—to _wherever _I am is an _accident _in his mind?'_

"Yes, I was trying to collect a soul that lost his second chance, and managed to swipe you instead—my apologies," he carried on, and my mind focused on how there was _another_ person like me.

"Wait, there's someone else in the Naruto dimension who's just like me?" I asked, suddenly feeling excited at the thought.

His head swiveled straight, and he cleared his throat, seemingly trying to hide something, "No, I meant—even if there was you couldn't—_shouldn't_—anyway, Ms. Flynn, that is a topic for another time; I believe I must discuss with you important matters."

I made a move to protest, ready to demand information about this other person who's just like me—with a second chance—but he made a hand motion indicating silence.

It was intimidating enough for my mouth to snap close, and my previous thought to float away. Feeling defeated, I had no choice but to listen.

"Now, the time for you to start your training is nearing—and there are some things I'd like to discuss before we begin."

Gulping, I nodded, listening intently.

"First, I am allowing you an option to back out—give up your second chance if you so choose. Beware though, the cost will be your permanent death."

At a loss of words, I weighed my options.

Either I continue to survive in a world full of powerful maniacs, trying to save an avenger from himself, along with the whole village he lives in—or, I welcome sweet, quiet, safe death.

Closing my eyes tightly, I sighed deeply, before shaking my head, "I chose to decline your offer of backing out."

I could feel the shock radiating off or Death, and decided that my choice was the right one—the one I should've made.

'_I've come so far—I couldn't just back out now.'_

"This won't be the last time I ask you, Ms. Flynn; the road ahead of you has much destruction and pain—I hope you know what you are doing. The training you will go through will take away your humanity if you let it—make you become your inner demons if you lose control; and once you are gone, no one can bring you back." Death spoke, sounding once again authoritative and leaderly.

"I understand," I mumbled, though a little unconvincingly.

He nodded, before walking a short distance away, waving his hand over the empty space above us.

To my surprise, a map spread out across the floor, shining in color and hazy shapes. There were people on it, from the way the shapes looked like figures, but there was nothing in detail; plus, the scenes flashed too quickly, so any descriptive image was gone before you could really see it.

Once again confused, I looked up at Death's hooded face, expression pressing for answers.

"This is what your memories look like," he stated sagely, and I looked back at the screen with realization, "they are muddled, confused—the first step to my training is the process of cleaning out your confusion, and searching for your answers. This process could take months—years even—so that is why I have called you here. We must begin straight away."

Dazedly, I nodded, understanding only bits and pieces of what he said.

"Once you clear out your confusion, only then can you truly begin training; of course, I could still teach you things along the way, but until you're dreamscape is completely fixed, you cannot use certain techniques." He continued flippantly, robes fluttering as he walked closer.

Eyebrows furrowed, I pursed my lips, "What happens if I use those techniques before my dreamscape is fixed?" I asked, puzzled and in need of any answers I could get.

"Then you'd most likely die."

Blanching, I couldn't help but shiver at the thought.

"Death," I asked, looking from the map to the pearly white space around me, then back to him, "do you think I'll survive?"

His response was delayed, as if he truly was giving it a lot of thought, "that will all be determined in time.

In other words, no.

'_Gosh,'_ I thought dryly, completely sarcastic, _'thanks for the vote of confidence.'_

"You're welcome," he replied, and I shuddered in response. Turning my gaze back to him, wide eyes and mouth agape, I accusingly pointed my finger at him.

"You—you just—!"

His bony hand waved, as if he was appeasing the situation, "Calm yourself—did you really not know I could read minds?" he stated dryly.

Shivering again, one thought came to mind:

'_Creepy.' _

Probably choosing to ignore my last comment, he walked forward steadily, robes fluttering behind him. His staff tapped the ground lightly, and the map of my memories dispersed into the air in tiny, glowing particles. Completely amazed, I felt a peaceful smile grow on my face.

"Meditating will be your first obstacle—remember to overcome it with a fighting spirit, and the rest should fall into place," he lectured, voice solemn, determined, "you might not get all your memories back, and there are others like me who wish to interfere—but I believe you can push past those obstacles as well."

Nodding, the smile resting on my face grew wider.

"The chakra within you will remain violent and unstable if you fail, or if provoked—remain careful, Ms. Flynn; do not waste this chance of yours, for it is a once and a lifetime offer." He continued, arms locking into place as he prepared to send me back.

"I'll be fine, you worry wart," I grinned, taunting him playfully.

There was a deep sound—a sound that I registered as a chuckle just as the pearly white walls faded.

"Goodbye, Susana."

And I was gone.

…

'_Ugh, my brain hurts,'_ I grumbling, sitting up with a hand held to my forehead, _'Death needs to find a better way to transport me places, because this is clearly not going to work.'_

Taking a few breaths, I reviewed the new things I learned today, and let another groan as I sunk back into the couch cushions.

'_So, if I don't clean up whatever mess my mind is in, I could die—and if I don't stable out my chakra, then I could die again—plus, there are people Death mentioned who _want _me to die. Oh, isn't this lovely?'_

Pushing away my negative thoughts, I jumped back up, rushing through the hall and out the door, smirk settled on my face.

'_So, let's get started then.'_

"Sasuke," I shouted at the top of my lungs, completely startling the poor Uchiha, "teach me how to meditate!"

...

**Hey guys!**

**This form of scattered little drabbles will continue till Susana turns twelve, and then i will proceed to work on the main arc chapters. Hopefully everything in these chapters make sense; i did kinda rush through writing some parts.**

**Any questions? Comments? Concerns? Please let me know!**

**Also, thank you for the wonderful and lovely reviews from the last chapters; they were truly motivating.**

**Question: What's the worst story you've ever read? **


	7. Chapter 6: Mindscape

**Summary: AU. When one dies, they don't expect to be brought back to life to help a lonely kid after a massacre. I've learned to start expecting the unexpected. (OC-centric)**

**_*All rights for the characters go to Masashi Kishimoto; except for mine of course*_**

**(Updating of the chapter may occur)**

**Chapter 6**

_First Person POV_

****Warning! This Chapter doesn't have a central plot—its intended purpose is to wrap up all the little stories from ages 8-12, so things I write in the near future will all make sense! This will be the last chapter before the start of the actual main arc, so its length will be pretty much longer than normal! It will show character development, personality, and information regarding any question you might possibly have!****

**Age 10—Sana **

'_When I woke up today, I didn't think—well, I didn't __expect_ this_ to happen._' I thought, staring into that of an intricately painted ANBU mask.

I could feel the confusing stare I was being sent. To him, I was just this mass of chakra, belonging to 'nobody' in a sense.

But I was here, and on some level, he knew something wasn't right.

So one thought lingered in my head as the calculating stare continued:

'_How am I going to escape?'_

But before I do that, let's rewind to how I got into this situation in the first place.

…

The sky was clear, the sun was shining, and not a single thing could ruin how perfect this day was going.

"Hey! You _brat_! Get back here!"

Well, except _that_.

Briskly turning around, I noticed angry merchants surrounding a figure in a huddle, all looking like smoke was about to come out their ears.

Sighing, I cursed Sasuke for not buying food sooner.

Buying groceries was the reason I was out today, exploring the merchant shops of Konoha. The Uchiha and I practically had nothing to eat—and while it was my turn to buy food, I couldn't help but feel a little irked at the fact that I had to miss the academy to do so.

Iruka had finally reached the topic of meditation—the one sole thing I could do at this point that could help my crazy chakra.

But of course, I had to miss it.

'_Life is too cruel,'_ I thought briefly, before my attention returned to the shouting farmers and merchants, _'and now I have to deal with this.'_

I was totally content with just going about my business, buying tomatoes and rice before the frantic mothers next to me bought them all, but a voice caused my attention to once again be placed on the angry display.

"It's not my fault you all are too afraid to do what I do! Losers! A future hokage isn't afraid of anything!"

At the word 'hokage', I found myself inching closer.

"Why you—!" a stray merchant shouted, face contorted in annoyance, and fists clenched.

Dropping my basket of produce on the ground and ignoring the surprised shouts from the people behind me, I rushed quickly towards the center of the circle, eyes growing wide due to who I saw.

"A kid like you won't become hokage! You're a monster!"

I could see the break in composure from the merchants and traders, the farmers who had their fists clenched. I knew this could only end badly.

"Just you watch me!" Naruto Uzumaki yelled, blue eyes ablaze and determined, not at all accepting the civilian's words, "I'll become hokage, and then you'll have to respect me! Believe it!"

Feeling the amount of depth the whiskered boy held behind his words was inspiring, but I could tell it just further egged on the anger of everyone else.

'_Just what exactly did he do?'_

Catching a shift in one of the farmer's weight, and the rearing pull back of his arm, I felt my whole body freeze at the sight.

His anger was radiating off him in waves, brown eyes pinched and glazed. This farmer wasn't thinking straight, and I could tell the person who would pay for his actions wouldn't be the actual man himself, but rather, Naruto.

And I couldn't let that happen.

Everything around me started to slow as I bolted forward, not caring if my cover was blown.

All I cared about is getting to Naruto before the farmer's fist did.

Swiping down and grabbing the completely shocked boy's hand, I pulled him up to his feet as soon as time returned to normal—dragging him fast and not so gracefully away from the group.

I could hear his shouts of confusion and fear, and the shouts from the merchants behind us, but they all fell on deaf ears.

I kept my pace fast, and I kept my eyes set on getting him out of there.

My feet took us through dusty streets and around concrete buildings, not slowing until they took us closer to the safe haven of the academy's training field.

I slowed considerably at the sight of the familiar swing that hung from the large oak tree, and released the hand I had a death grip on as I plopped onto the ground, panting heavily.

I wiped the sweat from my eyes, grunting as I sat up, and turned to look at the other source of heavy breathing right next to me.

Naruto's face was frozen, not exactly staring at me, but rather the space beside me. He couldn't see me, but he knew I was there—and that fact was slightly thrilling.

The adrenaline rush was starting to slowly go away, and the depth of my situation started to hit me.

'_I just helped Naruto Uzumaki,'_ I thought, mouth practically pursed in horror, _'I'm such an idiot! My cover's blown!'_

Thoughts along the lines of insults and the worrying thought of 'I just changed the plot of the story' had me on the verge of panic attack.

'_Yeah, but you just saved him from getting hit.'_

And just like that, the thoughts stopped.

Slowly beginning to breath normally, I swallowed the ever present lump in my throat, before shyly standing, trying to decide what to do next.

Gaining some confidence, I had an idea.

A probably stupid idea—but hey, I was too far in this situation to get out of it anyway.

"Hi, my name is Sana" I muttered, watching as the completely bewildered boy's face snapped quickly to where I stood, "I'm sorry I dragged you all across the village."

Naruto's face slowly started to morph into mixed emotions of wonder, and fear—and I pressed on with talking.

"I know you can't see me, but you might eventually—and trust me, I'm actually a lot closer than you know," I smirked, laughing quietly and how he was muttering 'g-g-ghost!' under his breath with unblinking cerulean eyes.

"Naruto," I spoke clearly, and a little bit louder, causing his panic to cease slightly and slowly focus on what I was saying, "I know it may be a bit much to ask, but can you do me a favor?"

Said boy, still not able to see me, shakily nodded, looking ready to pass out.

"I want you to try and befriend Sasuke Uchiha," I stated, watching as his expression shifted into protest.

"The teme! No way would I be friends with him!" he declared, arms crossed and expression set.

I sighed heavily, running a hand down my face. Wearily looking at the sky, I made another attempt to persuade him.

"Please Naruto," I asked, stopping slightly as the bell rung loudly, and chattering kids came filing out of the academy in hordes, "I know you two dislike each other—for whatever reason unknown to me—but I want you to try. He's a lot more like you than you think."

I watched silently as his expression cleared, eyes slowly turning to look at the brooding Uchiha across the courtyard. Something formed in his expression, something I couldn't describe, and he opened his mouth to reply.

Before he could though, a door slammed open, and an angry Iruka came shuffling out, face red and expression livid.

Naruto face in reply turned pale, and he started stuttering out excuses as the angry chuunin stalked closer.

"Naruto Uzumaki! Where have you been?!"

Naruto's stuttering excuses became louder, and I picked up a few words consisting of 'angry merchants' and 'running' and something about a 'ghost'.

I couldn't help but chuckle at the last part.

"No excuses! Get your butt back to the field before I give you a detention!"

With that, Naruto practically bolted back to class, sparing a lone glance back towards me, before taking off, leaving me alone once more.

Kicking at the dirt below my feet, I tiredly realized that I left the basket of groceries back by the merchants—and it was probably stolen by one of those mothers' too.

Resigning to the fact that I'd have to get take out _again_—for the fifth night in a row—I sighed.

"Well, it's not like today was a _total_ bust," I murmured out loud.

'_I did get to actually talk to the main character of the entire dimension.'_

Smiling slightly at the thought, I pictured briefly two faces that would be extremely jealous if I told them about today.

After a moment I realized that the two faces were foreign to my memory; and before I could memorize them, they were gone.

Slumping my shoulders, I spun back around towards the main road, ready to just give up.

'_I'm going home before anything else can ruin my day today.'_ I thought, lips pressed into a line and eyes glinting in a way to show I wasn't amused.

Hearing a loud thump from behind me, I paused stock-still, and turned around slowly.

'_Too late.'_

And this, my friends, is where the flashback catches up with present.

The man in front of me had broad shoulders, and was taller than me by a considerable few feet.

His physical appearance wasn't what had me scared; it had been the mask on his face.

It resembled a bear, but the eerie part had been the two beady eyes staring through the bear's porcelain face. These eyes were calculating, intense; they knew something wasn't right, that something foreign was at play here.

What they couldn't have known though, was that a ten year old girl was on the receiving end of them.

There was a sound of puzzlement, and the unknown man reached a hand to rub his chin in thought.

In that brief moment of slight action, millions of thoughts ran through my mind; who was this guy? Why was he here? Is my cover blown? Can he tell I'm here?

The only possible theory I had was that this guy was in ANBU, and had either heard the commotion I caused, or was one of those guards who made sure Naruto was kept safe.

'_Well, if he was this supposed 'guard' for Naruto, he sure didn't do a good job today,'_ I thought cynically, accidentally letting out an audible snort of disagreement.

Freezing altogether, my head whipped back around to meet his in horror—watching as realization dawned upon his features.

He knew someone was here—that I was here.

And there wasn't even a pause before he attacked.

A quick swipe came and swung straight for me, at an angle meant to harm.

"Who are you," he stated, more or so a demand rather than a question.

Gasping for breath, my heart rate increased, and I dimly tried to think of something to keep myself alive.

'_Alright Susana,'_ I thought, as I dodged another swipe and kick_, 'we have a highly trained assassin in front of us—thinking we're an enemy. How are we going to get out of this without being killed?'_

Feeling smooth metal swipe continuing to swipe at the area next to me, I decided to use my invisibility as an advantage.

"State your name, enemy nin," he demanded again, eyes more focused and deadly than before as he proceeded to narrowly miss me.

Grasping the wall, I turned quickly at the sound of kids shouting, and grinned widely at what was going on.

School was out for the day.

"Susana," I bit out, grinning briefly; taking off towards the group of academy children with a mad sprint.

I didn't dare look back, and I didn't dare to lose focus. Breathing heavy, I found myself within the horde of dismissed academy students, all leaving and preparing to go home with their families.

I tried to find the one academy kid that actually mattered at this point, but found myself at a loss for words when I couldn't find him.

'_The one time I really need that Uchiha,'_ I groaned internally, _'and he's nowhere to be found.'_

Catching sight of the bear ANBU staring and searching the crowd I was in the center of, I squeaked before taking off once more, feet burning and chest aching.

Just as I completed the first step, I could feel the man's gaze flicker right to me, and I prepared for the inevitable as he quickly rushed towards me.

"Sana?" I heard a voice whisper, sounding low and confused.

Untensing and looking to the side, my green eyes widened in recognition upon sight, "Sasuke." I realized, muttering his name in relief.

Lunging carefully next to the surprised boy, I held a finger to my lips and I redirected his gaze towards the ANBU making way towards us.

His onyx orbs narrowed accusingly, before turning quickly into those of his original uncaring, broody, avenger self as the bear masked man neared him.

"Kid," the man spoke, looking quickly to the side and back as he talked, "have you seen anyone suspicious lately? Anyone at all?"

Sasuke shrugged, his expression still blank.

The beady eyes turned irritated at the answer, before giving a nod in thanks; leaping up and into the trees with a forceful, chakra enhanced jump.

Finding it easier to breathe, I slumped my shoulders, adrenaline wisping away in loads.

I was met with a scowl, and a cross of the arms, but I was too relieved to care.

'_I just attacked by ANBU,'_ I found myself thinking, _'how am I even alive right now?'_

Losing focus, I thought deeper, trying to get a hold of the situation.

'_He couldn't get to me due to the fact that he couldn't see me; he could only see my chakra—and since there's chakra everywhere, I'm pretty sure I blended in somehow.'_

Slightly ecstatic at the new revelation, I found dread curling in my gut as I realized that he had intel—as little as it may be—on me now.

I wasn't unknown to the shinobi world anymore.

I couldn't just go around in the streets without worrying about the fact of being watched, or go to the academy without being on guard.

I would most likely be monitored now, watched to see where I was—who I was—if I was an enemy or not.

Honestly, I bet he's reporting everything that happened to the hokage.

I would too, if I was in his place.

'_This isn't how I wanted things to go.'_

Taking a long, deep breath, I focused back on reality, taking a step at a time next to the silently brooding boy next to me.

"So, I take it you didn't get groceries?" he asked, already knowing the answer.

"Nope."

'_Things are different now; and I can't tell if that's a good thing—or a bad one.'_

**Age 10—Sana **

"No." was the adamant reply from the very annoyed Uchiha.

"But, Sasuke—!" I tried to persuade, completely flabbergasted as to why he was so against my idea.

"No—I'm not going to change my mind." He sniffed, already turning on his heel to walk away and avoid any more of my insistent pestering.

Dashing forward with a strangled cry, I grabbed onto his shoulder before he could get away.

"Why not? It's not going to kill you or anything!" I shouted, eyes flashing and my stubbornness rolling off me in waves.

But even so, his stubbornness was rolling off him like a tsunami in comparison to mine.

'_This is a battle of will, isn't it?'_ I sighed mentally, already tired of trying, _'and he has more pride than the entire village combined.'_

"No, means no Sana; I refuse."

And with that, the bull-headed Uchiha broke from my hold, and stalked off towards his room—leaving me standing in the middle of the hallway with a sour expression.

'_That idiot,'_ I grumbled, huffing and crossing my arms, _'he's so stubborn!'_

I bet by now you'd like an explanation—a reason for all the bickering.

Well, the answers simple:

I told him to go hang out and play with the kids from the academy—interact with them, make some friends.

And you know what that obstinate jerk said?

He flat out _refused_.

The worst part of it is? _He won't tell me why._

And knowing him, it's probably some stupid reason too.

Sighing deeply out loud for once, I slunk down the wall in defeat, completely bewildered and confused.

"What the heck Sasuke?" I wondered out loud, looking up at the ceiling as if the answers were displayed there.

And then, it hit me.

Perking up considerably, I hatched an ingenious, slightly spiteful, and slightly devious plan.

With a smirk, I felt my resolve grow—there was no way this could fail.

…

Morning came shortly—and the normalcy of the usual routine stayed the same.

We ate breakfast, got ready, walked to the academy, and so on.

But today wouldn't be same; I had an _idea_.

Or course, it was a _dumb_ idea—all my ideas were dumb it seemed—and in the end of it all, Sasuke would either be very grateful, or he would want to kill me.

But I chose not to dwell on that fifty-fifty chance—more or so for my sake than anyone else's.

Plus, there was the fact that he probably already knew I was up to something—if the devious laughter and wide grins were any indication at all.

But yet, I think he chose to avoid me rather than confront whatever it was that was making me act mental; and that was perfect.

So far, everything was working out.

'_Let's hope I don't mess this up.'_

Sitting down in the small space I had on the bench of the desk, I placed my cheek onto my hand, propping it up as I listened to the droning lecture Iruka was giving about trade between the elemental nations.

It wasn't anything relevant—in my case at least

Continuously looking out the window, I waited for lunch to begin—for my plan to begin.

Because I'd be damned if Sasuke didn't at least gain one friend before becoming a genin.

I was suddenly jolted by the sound of a loud ringing bell—quickly swiping my head back towards the classroom, I noticed everyone start to get up, chattering and heading for lunch.

Nervously sitting up, I realized it was time to start.

I was given a curious glance from Sasuke; expression evidently giving away the fact that he wanted to ask what my problem was.

Walking hurriedly away before he figured it out, I aimed straight for the hallway; a confused Sasuke right behind me.

'_Ok, Sana, you can do this.'_

The plan was simple—all I had to do was to find some group of kids outside—preferably the rookie nine—sounds easy so far, right?

Then convince Sasuke to go talk to them—possibly one of the hardest parts.

And if that didn't work, then there was always plan B.

Wing it, deceive, and force—all good variables.

The sun shown down on the courtyard, bright light filling the air with comfort and warmth—giving energy to those who were under it; and by the way everyone was hyped up and running, I would say I was right.

Turning slightly to peek and make sure the Uchiha was still behind me, I grinned widely as I realized he still was.

He was wary by now, knowing full well that something was off.

But it was too late now.

"Hey," I exclaimed, grabbing his hand and ignoring his attempt to free himself, "let's go sit over there!"

Eyes wide as I started to literally drag him, his protests became a little louder with each step, "whoa—wait—Sana—what the heck—_Sana_—slow down!"

I continued racing towards the large oak tree, ignoring his objections, spotting just the person I was looking for.

"Trust me, Sasuke, you'll thank me for this someday." I murmured, barely audible. I couldn't really tell if he had heard me or not, but it didn't matter—I was too caught in my plan to care.

A boy with sunshine hair, ocean blue eyes, and whiskered cheeks stared dubiously from under the tree—seeing past me and at the huffing and glaring Uchiha.

"Teme?!" Naruto exclaimed, looking at Sasuke as if he had grown two heads.

Sasuke's pinching glare focused off of me and at onto Naruto, scowl turning into confusion.

"Dobe?" he asked, and then eyes lit up in recognition. They pointedly turned to me with vengeance, knowing full well what I was up to.

"Sana," he bit out, looking ready to murder me, "explain."

By now, I had let go of his hand, standing safely next to the swing and Naruto, a sheepish grin on my face.

"…Sana?" I heard Naruto mutter, eyebrows furrowed and confused.

'_Oh crap,'_ I thought, looking straight at the Uchiha as he narrowed his eyes at Naruto and then at me in suspicion.

'_Naruto remembers me,'_ I stated mentally, curling into myself, _'and I'm doomed.'_

"Oi!" Naruto shouted, recognition in his features, "that ghost girl from before!"

Catching Sasuke's look, I slumped completely.

'_Doomed. Doomed. Completely, utterly, doomed.'_

Naruto's eyes flickered between Sasuke, to basically everywhere else around him, before they returned back to Sasuke.

"H-hey teme!" he yelled, trembling slightly—fully realizing that a 'ghost' was by him again, "how do you know the ghost girl? How does _she_ know _you_?!"

Sasuke's whole demeanor changed—slinking back into his arrogant and aloof self, "Hn. It's none of your business; how do _you_ know her?"

"Why you—!" Naruto gritted his teeth, ready to lunge.

I shifted forward just in time and caught his shoulder, flinching at the jolt he gave when I did so.

Naruto's face went from red with anger to white with horror as he jumped back in surprise, eyes wide and knees shaking.

Sasuke took the opportunity to snort, and I sighed.

"Naruto," I muttered, shaking my head, "do you remember that favor I asked of you?"

Watching as he whipped his head in my direction, squinting his eyes as if to try and see me, he slowly nodded.

"Do you think you can act on it? Right now?" I asked, patient as ever.

That when the protests began.

"What favor? Sana—!" was Sasuke's reply.

"What? No way! The teme—!" was Naruto's.

"Enough." Was mine.

They both stopped stock still, completely bewildered and against whatever it was I had planned.

Too bad for them I was just as stubborn.

"I know you both hate each other—again, I have no idea why—"

"—because he's a dobe—"

"—he's a teme—"

Sighing, I cut them off, "That is no possible way a good enough reason; can't you just try to be nice to each other? For at least one day? If it doesn't work out, then I'll leave you alone and never ask again. Promise."

'_Complete lie.'_

Leaves rustled as the two stared at each other, contemplating whether or not they were actually going to listen to me. Their eyes were both narrowed, seemingly running through all the reasons why they hated each other, before the two of them nodded.

"Fine." They both replied, before crossing their arms and turning away from each other.

Gobsmacked, my eyes widened comically at how they just agreed willfully, _"Really?"_

"Yeah, whatever, let's just get this over with," Naruto replied flippantly, still irritated.

"Hn," Sasuke grunted, irritation level the same as Naruto's.

Mentally squealing in happiness, a large grin lit up my face—so wide that I probably looked mentally disturbed.

'_I can't believe this actually worked.'_

"Alright," I stated, bringing the two boys attention to me, "now, we find a group of kids to play with."

Naruto, the poor boy, was still unable to see me, but he really did try to act as if he could—which was something I found to be completely, undeniably sweet—yet, he turned in the opposite direction and starting talking to air, "Really? We're going to find another group to play with too?!"

Sasuke's darks eyes rolled, obviously amused at Naruto's apparent lack of ability to see me, "She's in the other direction, idiot."

Waiting and preparing to stop another argument once again, I was surprised when Naruto jumped, before turning to face me with a sheepish grin.

"Sorry about that, dattebayo," he muttered, rubbing the back of his head with a smile.

Blinking, I smiled too, shaking my head, "It's ok—I'm pretty used to it by now."

Naruto's smile just radiated the excitement and nervousness he was feeling—which was probably why he was acting strange.

'_I guess the plan won't just benefit Sasuke in the end,'_ I thought, smile still in place and turning soft.

'_I'm glad.'_

"Wait, teme," Naruto asked, suddenly demeanor different than his sheepish one before, "you can see—?"

"Long story," I cut off, eyes suddenly catching a group of boys and girls playing ninja along the treeline, "c'mon, let's go over there!"

I pointed exactly towards the group, catching Sasuke's attention—and then later Naruto's.

Giving him a happy look, I grabbed Sasuke's arm, before grabbing a reluctant Naruto's—pulling the two unsuspecting boys closer to the group.

Surprisingly, there were no protests this time—and my rushing feet got us towards one of the boys faster than I meant too.

Later, I'd recognize the boy as a civilian by the name of Kai—but as the moment, he was just another factor of my plan.

Kai's auburn eyes turned hesitant as Sasuke and Naruto were in his sights—not exactly sure why the two of them were here in the first place.

Nudging both of the two antisocial boys next to me with an eager smile, Sasuke decided to give in first with a roll of his eyes and a grunt.

"Hn, can we play with you guys?"

Kai blinked.

His hesitance turned into full out disbelief—eyebrows furrowed and eyes full of confusion.

"You—you," he choked, completely stunned by the Uchiha's words, "you want to play ninja with us?!"

By now, there was a crowd of the kids once playing now silent and standing around us; expressions just as disbelieving as Kai's.

"Did I stutter?" Sasuke asked, playing the arrogant act he always portrays.

'_Well, aren't we sassy when cornered,'_ I mentally snickered, a mischievous glint in my eyes forming slowly, _'I'll have to remember that.'_

As normal, all the girls swooned at the sight—hearts filling their vision and adoration evident in their features.

'_That's—sorta creepy.'_

Kai nodded, before glancing next to Sasuke, hesitance once again filling his gaze.

Pausing, I tensed—knowing exactly who he was unsure about.

'_Susana, you idiot,'_ was all I thought as the other kids gazes landed on Naruto as well.

Naruto himself looked as if he knew exactly why they were staring at him—why they were unsure.

And in defense to that, he kept his face blank.

"I-It's fine, dattebayo—I don't have to play if you guys don't want me too." he pronounced shakily, a fake smile rested upon his whiskered face.

Sasuke's expression was puzzled, looking at Naruto as if he was crazy—while I on the other hand cursed myself mentally as my heart broke a little bit.

Ready to intervene at the cost of my invisibility—because this was _my_ fault, and I needed to _fix_ this—I was surprised as I was stopped short by Kai himself.

"O-oh, i-it's ok; you can play too Naruto." He stated just as shakily as Naruto just had.

Naruto's eyes lit up a tiny bit, a part of his mask breaking slightly at the news.

"Really?" Naruto asked, still wary of being tricked, "I can really—?"

"Kai," another boy whined, pointing at Naruto with his nose crinkled, "we can't let him play."

"Yeah," a girl chimed in, rosy face just as snooty as the boy's, "he's a freak."

'_Oh, that's it,'_ I mentally spoke, catching sight of Naruto's hurt expression, _'I don't care how old they are compared to me, there going _down_.'_

And then, something extraordinarily bizarre happened.

"No," Sasuke stated, deadly calm and expression set, "if I play, then Naruto does too."

'…_what?'_

"Sasuke-kun," another girl whined, protesting in a nasally voice.

Sasuke's scowl cut her off—onyx eyes letting everyone know he was dead serious.

Just like that, everyone gave in.

"Yeah, I guess so."

"Whatever."

"Sure."

Smiling, I turned to see Naruto rushing to wipe his eyes before anyone else could see—a watery smile so wide it looked like it hurt displayed on his face.

Smiling along with him, I folded my arms across my chest—happy that things turned out this way.

"Ok," Kai spoke up, gaining the attention of everyone playing, "so the game goes like this—!"

Eyes lighting up as everybody cheered, yelled, and ran away as Kai began counting, I waved to Sasuke—letting him know I was going to sit this out.

There was a nod in return, before he turned back to the group.

Plopping onto the ground underneath the tree, I watched as the sun became too slowly descend from the sky—colors of warmth painted along the clouds.

'_I can't believe this worked,'_ I thought, resting my chin on my arms_, 'I for sure I had jinxed myself.'_

"Thank you, teme," Naruto joked, catching my attention, before he took off into the trees to hide, "don't lose dattebayo!"

"Hn, whatever, dobe," Sasuke shot back, trailing not too far behind as the game started, "I don't plan to fail."

And just like that, all was well with the world once again.

Sasuke had made a friend; and so had Naruto.

"Yeah," I whispered, closing my eyes as I smiled softly, "all is well."

**Age 10—Sana **

Days later, things were just as peaceful; Sasuke interacted a little bit more with everyone else—maybe not as much as he did that one day—but enough to put my mind at ease.

And surprisingly, he talked to Naruto a bit more now, and vice versa.

Of course, it wasn't as friendly as one would imagine; it was more or less their rivalry intensified.

But hey, friendly banter never hurt anybody.

Right?

"You're such an idiot—!"

"Teme! I dare you to say that to my face—!"

"What do you think I'm doing now? Saying it to the wall? I mean, either way it lacks intelligence, so I might as well continue—!"

"Argh! _Teme_—!"

Sighing, I just continued banging my head against the desk, choosing to ignore the two idiots bickering for once.

'_Again,'_ I muttered mentally, _'_how_ did they become best friends in the anime?'_

Their arguing continued, and the kids surrounding us were starting to make bets on who was going to win.

'_God, help me,'_ I pleaded, eyes wide and begging as I looked at the ceiling, and then at them.

Getting ready to stand up and just end things—because oh my god they were getting to be so _annoying_—I was cut short as a flash of pink came out of nowhere and decked Naruto in the face.

Watching in slight fear and surprise as Naruto went flying across the room, my head swiveled as a huffing Sakura Haruno clenched her fists, face twisted with anger.

"Cha! _Naruto_, leave Sasuke-kun alone!" she shouted, voice shrill and furious.

Taking a breath, her features shifted fairly quickly—morphing from 'angry and furious' to 'cute and innocent' within seconds.

"Hi Sasuke-kun," she smiled, cheeks red from blushing. "Can I sit next to you today?"

"Woah, that was scary," I muttered under my breath, still staring at the strange display.

Emerald eyes seemed to focus on where I sat, narrowed, and _very_ suspicious.

Gulping, I realized that I had said that out loud.

"Did you hear something?" Sakura asked, still slightly doubtful on whether or not she was just hearing things.

Catching Sasuke's eye, I frantically shook my head, indicating not to give away my secret.

In return, he snorted, causing the pink haired girl and other fangirls around him to stare in confusion.

"I didn't hear anything," he answered, tone dry and calm—but the glint in his eyes portrayed how amused he was.

As if on cue, a whole horde of girls swooned and squealed at the site, hands clasped together and mouths turned upwards in adoring smiles.

Sighing, I rubbed a hand down my face, all but ready to go home at this point.

"Alright class," a chipper voice interrupted, making way through the classroom door "let's get to work!"

"Hai, Iruka-sensei," everyone chorused back, completely not enthused.

But one voice didn't chorus back—instead, their full attention was still focused on me.

Swallowing the lump in my throat, I tried to ignore the curious and determined gaze of Sakura Haruno.

…

A bright burning sun hung high in the sky—rays of light barreling down on the field with gentle calmness. A warm breeze passed through the air, rustling leaves and branches as it floated by.

And despite how beautiful and peaceful everything was—there was something not right.

From where I sat in the grass of the courtyard, I noticed the amount of whispers that seemed to drift around—gaining in excitement and in vigor with each passing moment.

Peeking over my arms, I also noticed that most of the whispers seemed a little bit directed at _me_.

Which was absolutely absurd—no one knew who I was—let alone that I _existed_.

Maybe I was just paranoid?

'_No,'_ I thought, watching as a few girls chatted and whispered in hushed tones quickly, peering at Sasuke with curious eyes, _'maybe I'm not.'_

Sighing, I lifted off the ground, away from the bickering duo—which comprised of Naruto and Sasuke, who surprisingly chose to sit by each other at lunch—and towards the small group.

I wanted answers; and I was going to get some.

Creeping along the edge of the horde, I pushed brown strands of hair out of my eyes and I settled on the lunch table, leaning in close to hear better.

"—but that's crazy right?" a girl asked, eyes joyous and thrilled.

"Of course it is—!" Another supplied.

"—Yeah, totally—!" the third girl said.

"I mean, really," a pale girl snorted, golden hair fluttering in the breeze as she talked, "how could Sasuke have a _girlfriend_ without us knowing?!"

Choking on my own spit, I fell off the side of the table, all the air escaping my lungs as I landed on the grassy ground.

'…_what?!'_

"But it's strange," a fangirl chimed in, looking like she was fully committed to the rumor, "a girl from the other class mentioned hearing a girl laugh in the Uchiha compound—and not only that, but another girl said that she saw Sasuke buying enough takeout for _two_."

There was a silence, in which the group of girls was trying hard not to accept the information as truth—while I, on the other hand, was too mortified to even _think_.

"Well," the golden haired girl piped out, sounding doubtful, "maybe Sasuke has a girly laugh? And was just really hungry that day?"

The rest of the group gave her looks saying they didn't believe that one bit.

The girl sighed, slumping forward, "Oh, who am I kidding—he's too dreamy for there to be anything wrong with him!"

Snorting from my spot on the ground, I chose to ignore that last comment.

They all sighed dejectedly, seeming lifeless as they all realized something that was probably far from the actual truth.

Then, a light bulb went off in their heads.

And by the devious look on their faces—I could tell nothing good was going to come from this.

So, I got up quickly turned on my heel, and ran straight for the Uchiha.

Catching up to him within seconds, I gave a nod to Naruto—who completely didn't see the gesture—and motioned to Sasuke.

"We're leaving," I muttered, face blank and tone neutral, hand out reached and latched onto Sasuke's arm within a second.

His reaction was that of pure confusion and protest, but it was thoroughly ignored.

Something bad was going to happen tonight—and we needed to prepare.

We had reached the front of the academy by time he got fed up with my lack of answers, ripping his arm my grasp and turning scowling onyx eyes on me with much confusion.

"What's going on," he questioned, arms crossed, "why do we suddenly have to go home?"

Shivering, I gave him a look—a look conveying all the nervousness that was rushing through my head at the moment—and then parted my lips to speak.

"The fangirls have a plan," I muttered as his eyes slowly got wide, "and they're doing it tonight—so we need to hide—preferably in the compound—before they get to you, and pick up on my existence—!"

"Hn." He quickly cut me off, briskly picking up his pace towards the house.

Trailing not too far behind him, we both dashed quickly back to the compound—mentally preparing ourselves for a full on attack.

And knowing how the fangirls were, it wouldn't just be an attack.

It would be a war.

…

"Do you see anything?" I questioned from my position behind the couch—hiding from view as Sasuke was on watch.

"No," he replied, tone alert and eyes cautious.

A minute passed by—possibly two—before the startling silence was broken by loud knocking.

Jolting, both I and Sasuke's eyes met each other with the same sort of look—one of pure dread.

"I thought you said you didn't see anyone!?" I whisper-yelled, completely panicked.

"I thought so too!" he whisper-yelled back as the knocking became louder.

Sharing another look, we slowly got up and away from the window, creeping quietly towards the front door.

We edged further, jolting as the knocks went off once more.

Wrapping my arms around my chest, I gulped as Sasuke gripped the door handle, beginning to open the door slowly.

Door completely open, a gasp caught in my throat.

A group of girls stared and stood at the front porch, all looking at Sasuke with shocked expressions—features shortly turning into that of adoration.

"Sasuke-kun!" one of them squealed, but was quickly shushed by her peers.

A girl cleared her throat, stepping forward quickly with a large, sickly sweet smile on her face.

Blanching, I realized it to be the golden haired girl from earlier.

"Hello, Sasuke-kun," she purred—could ten year olds even _purr_—before she tried to suppress the heart's that were slowly forming in her eyes, "h-how are you?"

Nonplussed, Sasuke stared at her with blank eyes, shoulders tense and rigid.

"What are you doing here?" he questioned, arrogant and straight to the point.

The whole horde blushed, nervously fidgeting where they stood.

"C'mon Misaki," a brown eyes girl piped up, nudging the golden haired leader, "_ask_ him!"

Confusion settled itself into my mind—what was going on?

"W-well," she stuttered, before turning tomato red, "do you have a _girlfriend_?!" she shouted, the nerves getting to her.

Blinking, Sasuke looked confused—while I on the other hand, was just as mortified as earlier.

"What—?" he went to ask, looking at me really quick as to ask why she was asking him this.

Shrugging, I tried to remain calm externally—internally though, I was having a fit.

'_Please don't explain,'_ I pleaded with my eyes, green orbs boring into Misaki with vigor, _'please don't—I'll die of embarrassment.'_

But alas, this dead girl's luck wasn't on her side tonight.

"W-we just," she stuttered again, glancing at her shoes, "we thought you had one—there have been rumors—a girl from the other class said she heard a girl's laughter here—and that you've been recently getting take out for two—s-so we just…_assumed_."

'_And there goes any sense of dignity I've ever had,'_ I muttered dryly mentally, wanting to die in a hole at the moment.

Looking at Sasuke to gauge his reaction, I was thoroughly surprised to see the amusement that was glinting in his eyes.

Snorting, he looked at Misaki like that was the craziest notion in the world—much to the girl's surprise.

"I don't have a girlfriend—so if you would, please refrain from spreading any more rumors."

The hope that had formerly died bloomed once more in their expressions—and then they took off, squealing and shrieking in relief.

And just like that, things were resolved.

…_Almost_.

"Sasuke?" I asked, watching his shoulders shake from where I stood behind him.

As I went to touch his shoulder, he turned—a large grin on his face.

Shocked, I froze completely at the sight.

And then the unexpected happened.

He _laughed_.

A full blown laugh—barely reaching the point of hysterics.

Completely bewildered, I decided to join in—delighted to see the freedom of emotion coming from him.

A goofy smile appeared on my face, and I was soon laughing hysterically too.

"C-can you actually believe," I gasped out, too caught up in laughter that I couldn't speak, "that w-we were worried f-for _nothing_?"

Nodding he continued laughing too, letting it slowly die down into an amused smirk, "They a-actually thought you were my—my—!"

And with that, we broke off into chuckles once more.

"I know r-right? I'm just glad they don't know I _exist_!"

He snorted, eyes agreeing with my last statement.

Smile still rested on my freckled face, I couldn't help the tiny part of me that wondered what it _would_ be like to be his girlfriend—and as soon as the thought came, it went.

'_Though,'_ I thought, watching the smirk on Sasuke's face grow, _'I can't help but admit that I do like his smile.'_

'_And hopefully, it will remain.'_

**Age 10—Sana **

It was dark—the soft and calming of shadows of sleep wisping their way through the room as the moon hung high in the sky.

And yet, I was wide awake.

That is—wide awake in my dreamscape.

"It's nice to see you again, Ms. Flynn," the familiar voice of Death greeted me, bony face seeming as kind and welcoming as bones could get.

"It's nice to see you too." I muttered, rubbing my eyes and yawning, before gazing back at him with slightly more awake green eyes.

A brief second of silence came into to focus, and I started to get confused—and a tad impatient.

"Uhm, Death?" I asked, bewildered at his apparent silence.

"Yes?" he asked in return, empty eye sockets boring holes into my figure.

Clearing my throat, I looked away swiftly, before gazing back him, a little unsure, "Uh, I don't mean to seem rude—but, uh, why am I here?"

He nodded, before sighing, making a gesture for me to follow him.

And I complied, curiosity getting the better of me.

"I regret to inform you that it now time for me to help you train—that we must begin the meditation now or it will be far too late." He spoke solemnly, fleet clicking against the smooth floor as we walked deeper into the large space.

Glancing at him, I furrowed my eyebrows, not understanding his point, "You already said I had to begin meditation to gain control of my chakra—but why would it be too late if I started any later?"

Truth be told, I hadn't started any meditation practice at all—call it laziness, but it was mostly because I had no idea how.

And it wasn't like I was going to ask Sasuke for help—his ego is way too big already.

He sighed, before stopping abruptly in front of a large arch-like doorway, with a single square in the center of the picturesque room.

Turning, his dark robes rustled a bit as he looked at me, seemingly having an internal battle with himself on what to say.

Finally, he resolved to something.

"Troubling times are still a bit further down the line—but it is not those times that are the problem," he announced, voice raspy and eerie, "it is your mind and memory that poses the threat."

Biting my lip, I stood there flabbergasted, not really able to process the situation.

"What are you talking about?" I asked, shoulders tense and rigid, "I thought you took away my memories for a reason."

He shook his head, denying my claim, "I myself did not take away the memories for a purpose—the actual process of death did."

Blinking, I urged him to continue.

"I may be Death himself, but the process of death is a bit different," he explained, hands gripping the pole of his scythe, "when a person dies, their memories are preserved and given back as they either enter heaven or hell—but in your case, you went to neither of those places."

Gulping I nodded, eyes wide in realization, "I went to a different dimension entirely."

"Yes—those with the offer of a second chance are the rarest of them all; and also the unluckiest." He stated, voice grim foreboding.

"Unlucky?" I asked, a hint of fear laced in my tone.

He offered no reply, and beckoned me to follow him towards the center of the arch.

"Those with the chance to save—the chance to give back a life—also risk the chance of losing their own," Death sagely muttered, bring his scythe to a standstill between he and I, "and the persons memory plays a big role in that—which is why I must help you now; so that we prevent your early demise."

'_Wow, what a lovely thing to be doing at one in the morning,'_ I thought dryly, nerves frayed beyond belief.

Death chuckled, obviously knowing what I was thinking; causing me to blush a dark shade of pink at the remembrance of him being able to read my thoughts.

"Sit," he ordered, gesturing to the square before him.

Complying—albeit hesitantly—I sat with my legs folded beneath me, shoulders rigid from fear.

I noticed the ancient looked scripts that seemed to form within the square, I realized this wasn't just some dream—this was real.

I was in danger—my own memories so dangerous that I could lose my second chance if things went badly.

Hardening my eyes, I've thought of all the things I've accomplished so far—and I refused to let my own mind destroy me.

Glancing up, my determination radiated from my eyes—letting Death know I was ready for whatever weird, freaky thing that was about to happen.

'_It wouldn't be the first weird, freaky thing to happen since coming here.'_

As he cleared his throat and backed away, he explained: "As the person with the second chance focuses on their responsibility, they tend to lose focus—and tend to let their past memories go haywire," he continued talking, arm raised with the dark, cryptic scythe in hand, "the memories of the person is directly linked with the chakra—therefore if the memories go haywire, then the chakra will too."

Swallowing the lump in my throat, I breathed out slowly, almost to the point of overload.

"You are the youngest person to go through this process—and out of all those other individuals, your percentage of completing this task isn't that high; on your own that is," he nodded, twisting the dark weapon in midair, "which is why we must do this _now_."

Closing my eyes, I clenched my fists, pushing down the bubbling anxiety forming in the pit of my stomach.

'_You can do this Susana,'_ I encouraged mentally, _'you may be entirely out of your league when it comes to this stuff, but let's live off of some false hope a bit.'_

"Relax," Death whispered, swinging the scythe down, "Breathe—focus—_concentrate_."

And with that, everything went numb—my toes and fingers felt light; my mind clear and the rest of me close to that feeling.

I felt weightless.

And with an abrupt shift and a tight pull, I found that feeling being whisked away from me.

A strong pressure flared within my mind—almost as if it wanted to break free.

Gritting my teeth, I pushed the pressure back—forcing it to go further and further until I heard a resounding _crack!_

That's when the colors and shapes started flashing vividly before me.

'_I'm sensing a déjà vu moment.'_

The picture settled, I saw the face of that woman once more—the one who's face was full of tears and hands covered in blood—_my_ blood.

Glancing over, I saw the boy whose face and appearance highly resembled Sasuke's—dark eyes painfully wide and mind racing as he stared back.

Another frantic woman came into the scene, along with a man—all racing towards the boy, tightly hugging him and crying relief.

The scene shifted once more, and I started to see myself—my fifteen year-old self—laughing, twirling as the woman from before took pictures of her in a dress.

Memory shifting, I saw the same me sitting in the dark, telling ghost stories with two other people—identical in appearance and a bit older in comparison to myself.

Their grins were mischievous, and eyes glinting.

Finding myself somewhere else now, I was standing with a much older man, fishing off the dock from that of an old cottage.

And the scene shifted again—and again—and kept shifting.

By the next memory, everything was rapidly moving—fluctuating so fast that I could hardly tell what was happening.

The colors and shapes were flashing once more, before I willed them to completely stop.

It stilled to the picture of a room—a tiny room, filled with sunlight and flowers.

Confused, I realized the things around me weren't just some picture anymore, but actually reality.

Stepping forward, I stopped as a woman came into to view—holding her hand out as she was telling me to stop.

Furrowing my eyebrows, I realized I recognized the freckles and curious green eyes as my own—but the face was much older, wiser.

Opening my mouth to speak—a million questions racing through my mind at this point—I halted as she held a hand to her lips.

"You'll know everything in time, Susana—try to remain patient. Everything will be resolved." She had said, before releasing a toothy grin much like my own.

And with that, it was over.

I was whisked away again—weightless bearing down on every fiber of my being.

And I was left more confused and dazed than I had been to begin with.

'_Well, that was a rollercoaster,'_ I thought cynically, mentally and physically tired at this point.

Feeling the pounding in my head begin to pick up, I groaned as I felt the solid feeling of the ground beneath me, opening my bleary eyes and gazing up at the face of Death himself.

His face was much too grim for my liking, and I sat up with caution as I rubbed the back of my head.

"I gather that you don't know what just happened either, right?"

He sighed, shaking his head, "You continue to astound me, Ms. Flynn—but I do regret to inform you that despite your memory issue being slightly fixed—I have no idea what do next."

'_Oh, joy.'_

…

The familiar feeling of the soft blankets from the couch lay underneath me as I sat up with a jolt, breathing heavily.

Eyes wide as I glanced around, I slumped as I realized it was now daybreak—and I had not slept at all.

Rubbing a hand down my face, I sighed wearily, before bringing my knees close to my chest.

Propping my chin on the tops of my kneecaps, I stared distantly out the window, watching as the birds dipped and dived in the pink and orange tinged sky.

"What happens now?" I whispered aloud, unanswered questions swarming inside my mind.

'_Whatever it is,'_ I thought, closing my eyes as I tried to get a recap of what just happened, _'I get the feeling that I won't like it.'_

**…**

**Wow.**

**This is incredibly late guys—and a bit rushed.**

**Sorry!**

**Updating this seemed to take forever for whatever reason.**

**Any questions regarding my chapter? Or any suggestions? Just let me know!**

**Thanks for waiting!**

**Question: Who's your favorite writer?**


	8. Chapter 7: Interrogations and Endings

**Summary: AU. When one dies, they don't expect to be brought back to life to help a lonely kid after a massacre. I've learned to start expecting the unexpected. **

**(OC-centric)**

_***All rights for the characters go to Masashi Kishimoto; except for mine of course***_

**(Updated 12/17/16)**

**Chapter 8**

_First Person POV_

****Warning! This Chapter doesn't have a central plot—its intended purpose is to wrap up all the little stories from ages 8-12, so things I write in the near future will all make sense! This will be the last chapter before the start of the actual main arc, so its length will be pretty much longer than normal! It will show character development, personality, and information regarding any question you might possibly have!****

**Age 11—Sana**

Sweat was dripping from my face—tremors running through every fiber of my being, complete strain forcing its way in my limbs. I inhaled deeply, trying to calm my fraying nerves.

"Focus, Ms. Flynn," Death's voice rasped from above me, tone strict and demanding as he too knew the weight of the situation, "Your body cannot afford to be distracted."

_'Thank you, Captain Obvious,'_ I thought bitterly, clenching my eyes shut as a wave of pressure hit me full force and almost caused me to buckle. My mind felt suddenly heavier, catching me off guard as I willed the dark spots to dance their way out of my vision.

"If you have time to make cynical comments, Ms. Flynn, then you have more than enough time to meditate and control your chakra."

Grimacing, I tried to block out Death's creepy telepathy habits.

Quickly wiping some sweat from my forehead, the pleasant thought of simply lying down and sleeping passed through my mind. I could rest on the couch in the Uchiha living room—maybe roll into a ball and stay that way for a while.

I was cut off from my daydream with a sharp pain flaring behind my eyes—flashing quickly as I gained control once more.

"Ms. Flynn—!" Death started to scold, but I managed a shaky hand to halt him from lecturing even further.

"Y-yeah, yeah—I know I need to focus—sorry." I muttered, eyes still clenched shut in concentration and irritation.

I heard a tiny sound of agreement erupt from where he stood, and I couldn't help but sigh.

Shifting my feet, I struggled against the energy that was trying to work against me—the energy that was in turn trying to control me as I was trying to control it.

You see, I wasn't just doing some fancy training exercise like before—no, this time, it was the real deal; the type of thing I had been training for the past year in order to gain some sort of significance to the future I was trying to preserve.

Generally, this entailed occasionally passing out in order to even come close to seeing Death—it's not like the guy could just magically appear in Konoha within broad daylight to teach me how to control the very thing the ninja world needed in order to survive. But the constant passing out did come with the side effect of a suspicious Sasuke; he knew something wasn't right, especially when he could pick up on the fact that when I'd return, I was more exhausted than when I left. I've tried to avoid the topic for as long as I could, knowing deep down the fact of training with the grim reaper would set off some sort of crazy avenger power hunger in him. Of course, I didn't choose to have Death teach me, it was essential if I didn't want to die.

Again.

But after this—this entire _ordeal_—I have a feeling that I wouldn't be able to avoid the topic any longer.

I knew that I had a chance at least—a chance at correcting the flow of chakra throughout my body. All I needed to do was somehow end up in my internal dreamscape, find my memories, release the natural chakra running through my system, and then come back in one piece.

Easy, right?

Gritting my teeth, I fought with all I had to stay awake. There was a calming hum that was ringing in my ears; a sound so low and distinct that it was hard to miss it.

I would later realize that the hum had been Death's voice—but too far away and faded for me to hear it.

The ache in my limbs seemed to dull down, and I felt everything shift into weightlessness—there wasn't exhaustion anymore, only a precise calm.

It was a sense of tranquility that I've never before experienced, so intoxicating and consuming that I found I didn't care about what was going on around me anymore.

That's when reality hit.

Second chance. Nature energy. Dying.

I brought myself back with a groan—blinking repeatedly as I tried to adjust to the sheer darkness of where I was.

Stumbling on smooth and solid ground, I inched cautiously forward, green eyes darting to every nook and cranny for evidence of any danger.

Pausing, I felt a cold feeling run down my spine—shivering as I turned around to see nothing but depths of black.

I shrugged the feeling off, turning to start walking once more—only to reel back at the feeling of frigid water brushing up against my feet.

Teeth chattering, I placed my gaze on my feet, surprised when I saw my reflection staring back at me.

Freckles lined my face, green eyes alight and glinting as they rippled in the water.

There was a brief flash of myself—only turned older, like the image I had seen a year ago.

There was a smile on the older face, expression reassuring and calm.

I was about to lean down and touch the reflection, but was knocked off balance as the reflection opened up and swallowed me whole.

Parting my lips to scream, I began to panic when no sound came out, clutching at my neck as I was dragged down deeper into who knows where.

_'Get a grip,'_ I murmured internally, _'you control your own mind—Get. A. Grip!'_

Shouting the last word in my mind, I felt the force let go—leaving me to stand in a room of pure gray.

Shaking as I took a deep breath, I rubbed a hand down my face, nerves utterly fried at this point.

_'Ok, this is ok,'_ I told myself, still holding onto the hope I didn't screw anything up.

Biting my lip, I would pretend later that complete dread didn't roll through me—or even that pure horror didn't consume my expression.

I would say that I took this like a man and was calm and reserved the entire time.

Pressing onward, I decided to improvise—and stared up in thought at the ceiling.

And then it hit me.

Metaphorically, of course.

"I'm in control," I murmured, closing my eyes as concentrated, willing my memories to come to me themselves, "I control myself."

Tiny flashes of light started to fill my vision, bursts of color exploding across the room.

This was a now or never moment—and if I couldn't control this, then I was as sure as dead.

Again.

Forcing the flashes to turn into pictures, into scenes, into _something_, I slowly felt the resistance start to build and fight against me.

Natural chakra was free—something only an expert could control.

I was no expert—I was eleven.

But that doesn't mean I wasn't going to try.

Faces of the people I already knew now passed through my mind—along with the mantra of Death's lectures—and I finally felt the resistance buckle.

There was a bright explosion of pure chakra, scenes of memories going haywire before flashing out of existence.

I found myself back in the room I was in before on my knees—the same candle lit room I found myself in the first time I met Death.

I stared up into the empty eye sockets of a familiar bony face, whose features surprisingly looked relieved.

"Congratulations, Ms. Flynn—you've controlled your chakra—something that was nearly impossible," he murmured sagely, bony fingers clenching around the edge of his scythe.

Narrowing my eyes, I noticed he was acting off.

He was hiding something.

With utter exhaustion written across my face, I managed to force the words from out my mouth, giving the tall skeleton a hard expression, "Death—?"

He cut me off, waving his hand out in a gesture of silence, "It matters not as of now Ms. Flynn—what matters is that you have access to your chakra—I have no idea how, but that is not of relevance. We will save the issue for another time," he explained, glancing back at me stoically, "you are probably tired—so I think you returning would be the smartest of ideas. Goodbye, Susana."

He tapped his scythe once against the stone ground, and I felt myself sink into oblivion.

…

The first thing I heard was the sound of loud knocking—reaching a volume of complete obnoxiousness.

Groaning, I forced myself up from where I was lying on my bed, feeling the joints in my back crack at the sudden movement. Pushing myself up and over to the door in a matter of few short, shaky steps, I reached for the doorknob.

I had just recently gotten a room about a few months back—claiming the spare bedroom in the Uchiha manor as my own on account of not wanting to sleep on the couch anymore. Of course, Sasuke had no say in matter—sure, he was a little uneasy about the whole situation, but was to proud to let me know it affected him in any way.

And yet, I feel like the loud knocking is his way of getting revenge.

"Hold on," I slurred, voice somewhat portraying how tired I was.

Unlocking the door handle, a strong, yet brief, gust of wind hit me as the door was opened quickly.

I blinked as I stared into the eyes of a frantic Uchiha—looking at me as if I was someone foreign, or even an intruder.

"Uh, hi," I murmured, taking a step back from the ever present scowl on his face.

He crossed his arms across his chest, an aura of _'I'm not messing around'_ radiating from him in waves.

"You need to explain," he stated, tone demanding, "now."

I took another step back, feigning innocence, "Explain?"

He took a step forward, scowl deepening, "Yes, actually; you could start by explaining why this huge amount of chakra just exploded in the house before vanishing completely."

Sighing, I knew this conversation wouldn't be avoided—the Uchiha was frazzled and there was no avoiding his stubbornness—so I made a motion for him to sit down as I flopped onto the bed.

"Are you sure this can't wait till tomorrow?" I asked, feeling utter exhaustion still running through my veins.

I was met with a look and an eyebrow raise, "You won't tell me tomorrow." He stated plainly.

A brief pause.

"Touché," I muttered, before making a point to grumble in annoyance.

Stumbling up, I turned to face him from where he sat on the other side of the bed, biting my lip in nervousness.

"Well," I mumbled, staring at my toes, "you know my recent status of being dead—that I have a second chance—that I'm invisible—that I'm supposed to help you," I rambled, looking up once to see him nodding his head in agreement, "but there is so much more to the story that I don't even know myself yet."

His onyx eyes seemed puzzled, as if he was trying to understand where I was going with this.

"I've been training with Death." I blurted, cringing at the incredibly ungraceful way I started that conversation.

I was met with a look of disbelief, mixed with a tint of jealousy—a look I was afraid of getting—but swallowed the lump in my throat and continued.

"I know it's hard to believe—but honestly, it's hard to believe that I'm here when I'm supposed to be dead, right?" I continued, twirling my hair in thought, "Death works in mysterious ways."

There was a pause, and I continued to explain in order to fill the awkward silence.

"Do you remember that one day when you tried to teach me how to use chakra?" I asked lightly, smiling cynically at the memory.

I saw him nod, eyes distant as he played the memory through his mind, "Yeah, I remember—you just suddenly collapsed."

"Yeah," I affirmed, turning to look at him fully, "that happened because my chakra was comprised of nature chakra—which was linked to my memories; I'm not sure how exactly, but Death said that he replaced my chakra with nature chakra so I could survive or something. But you know how nature chakra is—I couldn't control it, and what happened that one day would happen again—that's why he's been training me, so that I _could_ control it—not completely, though—the only thing I did was release it."

I was aware that I was rambling—but I only rambled so he didn't ask the questions I wasn't ready to answer yet—the questions I didn't have answers to.

"So," he asked, looking at me weirdly, "you're saying that every time that you passed out, you when to train with _Death_; and that your chakra was _nature chakra_."

Pausing, I realized that _did_ actually sound crazy aloud,"Well, yeah—Death is the one who put me here, so it would make sense that he'd be the one to train me; I mean, he _is_ the only one who knows what's going on—as for my chakra, it's not nature chakra anymore. If it was, than I'd be dead by now. _Again_"

There was another long silence—in which I bit at my lip and more questions seemed to form in his mind.

And by the glint in his unusually lit eyes, I knew the next few hours weren't going to be in my favor.

I turned in surprise when I heard the intake of breath—looking in time to see as he began asking questions once more.

"You said you had a second chance, right?" Sasuke questioned, looking as though a million thoughts were racing through his head all at once.

"Yeah," I trailed off, not exactly following where he was going with this, "I died earlier than I was supposed, so I was given a second chance."

He nodded, already knowing this, "But you mentioned before that your second chance was full of risks." He stated, still continuing to confuse me.

I, again, nodded in agreement—blinking my eyes to try and figure out what he was trying to ask, "There are many risks—but I don't get it," I spoke, squinting my eyes at him, "what are you getting at, Sasuke?"

He shifted away from me slightly, looking as if he was hesitant to answer.

By that reaction, there were instant red flags and alarms screaming danger in my mind.

_'He's acting strange,'_ I concluded, feeling as if I had never woke up, _'this could be a dream—and if it is, then something is definitely off.'_

Sasuke Uchiha wasn't a hesitant person—he was bold, and arrogant, and got to the point.

"You said that there were risks with your second chance—but you also said that you were here to help me," he stated, eyes distant as he stared at the ceiling, "I'm not dumb, Sana—I know you helping me and the risks are somehow related; what I want to know is why you're helping—what are you trying to prevent?"

I felt as though I couldn't breathe; an internal mantra of _'don't tell him!' _rung through my mind.

_'He knows,'_ I slowly thought in horror, ready to tear my hair out, _'and if I tell him the rest of what he knows, then the future is doomed—but if I don't tell him, then I'm doomed.'_

My horror must have been more evident than I thought—and I was met with a complete look of out of character urgency—a look I would later say I only saw a handful of times throughout my life.

His expression pressed for an answer, but I wasn't sure if I could give him one without choking.

"I—I can't tell you the full details Sasuke," I murmured, posture rigid and voice low—careful—as I pronounced each word. I was met with a look of utter protest, before I put a hand up to stop whatever argument I was about to hear, "but I can tell you that the future I do know is full of dark times—there will be a time where there will be another war—and the ones you'll come to call your friends will be in a _lot_ of danger."

_'You will be in danger,'_ I wanted to add, but decided against it, _'and you'll become this crazed, vengeful lunatic who will want to kill everyone in his way; there will also be a lot of people after you—and this snake pedophile will want to possess you and steal your body. Did I also mention that you become a rogue-nin and try to assassinate the kage's? Because there's that bright and cheerful news as well.'_

There was a long period of silence—complete, dead silence. I refused to look at him—refused to let him know how stressful the situation really was.

Because things _were_ stressful—I was this now eleven year old kid who was expected to save the shinobi world; and it dawned on me just how much I really needed to fix.

The scariest part? _I barely had even reached halfway towards fixing things._

_God, _there were so many things that needed fixing—things that needed saving. It required knowledge and strength and guts—and I hardly had any of those things.

Sasuke was going to become a part of team seven _next year_. I only had a year left to prepare—and preparations hadn't even really begun.

_'I'm screwed.'_

There was an audible intake of breath—almost like a deep sigh—and a loud plopping noise. Curiously, I peered over my shoulder to see that Sasuke now lied on his back, staring at the ceiling with a faraway look in his eyes.

Plopping down a few feet away from him, I too, stared up at the ceiling—liking the prospect of getting lost in my thoughts—as cynical and negative as they were, they were a _much_ better distraction than reality at the moment.

"Will anyone I know die?"

The underlying context of 'will I go through another massacre' is what emotionally punched me in the gut.

Biting my lip, I tore my eyes away from the gloomy and grey ceiling, casting him a look as I chose not to reply.

Even though he never took his eyes off the ceiling, my silence was answer enough.

Closing my own eyes, I took a breath, trying to think of something to say.

"You'll make it through though," I muttered, absentmindedly twiddling my fingers, feeling his gaze rest on me, "trust me—I've seen your future already—you make it; but there were so many things that could've been avoided—so many things that shouldn't have happened that was _preventable_. I know what's going to happen—what _will_ happen unless I _stop_ it. I'll try to stop it, even if I die trying."

By the end of my speech, I turned quietly to look at him—taken aback by the wide-eyed look I was receiving.

Internally freaking out, I wondered if I had said too much.

_'Of course ya did, you dork,'_ I chastised mentally, ready to die of embarrassment.

However, I was completely surprised by his next statement:

"Why?"

Blinking, I dumbly stared back, not understanding what he was asking.

"…Come again?" I asked, eyebrows furrowed and lips pursed.

His obsidian eyes were still surprised, before taking on a slightly more intense glint, "Why would you risk your life for everyone else?"

Again, I blinked—but realized what the underlying question was.

_"Why would you risk your life for me?"_

Smiling softly, my eyes crinkled, "Because Sasuke, they'll be my comrades—and _you_ will be too—and I'll risk my life for the people who would do the same for me; what was the word again? My most precious people or something?"

I was so past embarrassment as I saw a light twinge of pink dance its way across his face—ultimately sly for causing that reaction.

All slyness was gone when a sharp flick to the forehead ruined my fun, a disgruntled Sasuke muttering something about me being an '_idiot'_ as he got up and left.

…

**Age 11—Sana**

Today had started relatively normal—and knowing my luck, this was just the beginning stages of a relatively _abnormal_ day.

Much to my surprise though, it was currently four in the afternoon—and not _once_ had anything happened that seemed dangerous, life-threatening, or positively risky.

But you know me—I always ended up jinxing the situation.

It had been a few months since I was able to release the chakra block comprised of mostly nature chakra, and a few months since my interrogation with Sasuke.

I've been off training with Death a lot more, learning more and training even harder. Various forms of basic styled taijutsu were ingrained in my mind—and my genjutsu as of now was nonexistent. Ninjutsu had been the hardest of the three to learn, so it wasn't exactly a favorite either.

But I still trained nonetheless; I _wasn't_ going to take this oncoming storm lying down—I planned to do all that I can so that I wasn't left behind—so that I didn't _fail_.

Graduation was coming shortly, and soon I was going to have to face the reality that was the ninja world.

Whether I was ready or not, it was coming—and I'd rather be safe than sorry.

So I trained—day in, day out. My training sessions with Death were rigorous—to the point where I would come back to the world of the living drenched in sweat and exhausted.

Sasuke also had taken up different training methods—he would wake up and briefly eat breakfast with me, then he would go off to the academy—only to train until sunset soon after. I wasn't exactly sure of how he was training—or _who_ he was training with—but I could tell he was different from before.

We hadn't really seen each other lately—well, I haven't seen anyone lately—not that they could see _me_ or anything…

Where was I going with this?

Oh, right; I've been immersed in training that talking to normal people—Death was _not_ normal, by _any_ standards—was a rather scarce event.

So imagine my surprise when a certain Uchiha walks up to me, soaked in sweat, and demanding to fight me.

Blinking back at the determined boy, I could only gape in shock.

"You—you want me to fight? You want me to fight _you_?" I asked incredulously, not truly believing what I was hearing.

A firm nod was my reply, before he made a motion for me to follow him to the training ground behind the main house.

Blinking—because this was _weird_ and I was _so_ confused—I numbly followed, not sure whether he was serious or not.

_'So much for a normal day—you really need to stop jinxing things Susana Flynn.'_

Trailing behind, I came to a stop as he made way into the center of the field, looking back at me as if to say _'hurry up'_.

"He's seriously serious," I whispered aloud, utter disbelief consuming me, "what the _heck_? Why is he seriously _serious_?"

I made way to the spot before him, watching as he slid straight into a battle position—doing the exact same—shakily at that—I gave him the same look of incredulity as I had before.

"Sasuke," I asked, watching as his eyes focused on me.

"Hn?" he grunted, an invitation to continue talking.

Furrowing my eyebrows, I gave him a hard stare, still not getting what was going on, "Why the hell are you trying to fight me?"

He smirked, but remained silent—infuriating and confusing me even further.

"Ready?" he asked.

"Not in the slightest." I muttered.

He rolled his eyes, before chanting a quick '_go'_ and sped full force at me to punch.

Managing a quick dodge with wide eyes, I rolled into a summer-sault and sprung back up as he jabbed a high kick towards my face.

Deflecting that with a grimace, I stared at the Uchiha boy in shock as he continued to strike at me.

The only thought running through my head went along the lines of _'what is going on?'_

I felt a sharp jab land in the right side of stomach, managing to back up quickly with a slight choked noise as I sprung backwards and away from the Uchiha's powerful swipes.

Clenching my teeth as I rubbed at the spot he hit—it was _definitely_ bruised—I felt a scowl work its way onto my face as he smirked in reply.

_'Ok, Uchiha,'_ I growled mentally, competitiveness consuming me at the moment, _'you want to play it that way? Fine.'_

Quickly going through the basic steps of the move Death taught me, I dodged another high kick that was followed by a strengthened punch, rolling into a summersault and jolting up sideways with a punch of my own—mocking his same cocky smirk as I managed to land a hit on the side of his face.

He glowered, and I realized my victory would be short lived.

He went through quickened hand seals—something I hadn't even begun to learn yet—and he did a signature jutsu I was sure to avoid being on the receiving end of.

"Fire release: great fireball jutsu!" he shouted, and suddenly there was this large plume of fire hurtling towards me.

_'Oh shit_,'

Eyes wide as I leapt out of the way, I looked to see that there were barest hints of smoke rising from the sleeve of my shirt.

The fire had managed to graze me.

I swiveled my head to stare directly at the Uchiha, eyes ablaze and shoulders shaking.

"Are you crazy?!" I raged, looking more or so the crazed part as I stared at him, "I don't even know ninjutsu! That wasn't fair!"

He gave me the barest smirks, speaking in a tone that was far too solemn for his age, "Nothing is fair on the battlefield—and your lack of knowledge is what gets you killed."

Pausing, I mentally took a step back.

_'Ok—again, as I have repeated for the millionth time—what?'_

Shocked by what he just said, there was an underlying moment of _'did he just fight me in order to teach me something—something completely out of character at that'_ running through my mind.

He had cleared his throat, a proud tone replacing his once sage one as he smirked at me once more, "Is it safe to say that I won?" he asked, fully knowing that he did, in fact, win.

Huffing, I crossed my arms, looking away, "You only won because I don't know what I'm doing—but you watch Uchiha, I'll beat you someday; so don't be acting all high and mighty now, jerk."

He merely just grunted, aura radiating just how big his ego was getting, "Whatever loser."

I scowled, before a small smirk of my own landed on my face.

"Says the one with the large bruise on their face." I muttered in a sickly sweet tone, grinning ear to ear.

His face slowly morphed in that of horror mixed with annoyance as he turned to stare at me—choosing the latter and settling a dark glare on my laughing frame.

"Round two," he muttered darkly, speeding towards me once more with a punch poised and ready to hit.

Laughter being replaced by screams, I sped off in the other direction—trying to avoid the angry Uchiha's rage.

…

**Age 11—Sana**

You can't fight the inevitable—nor can you run away from it. It'll be there, an annoying nuisance that you can't ignore; no matter how much you want to.

I've come to realize this many times—this particular time, however, I've come to fully understand it.

I hadn't meant to get in this situation—oh no, I tried to avoid this moment for practically my entire existence here in this dimension.

But I was now caught; it was too late, and I didn't have an escape.

"You may release her," the sage voice spoke, puffing casually on the pipe in his aged hands.

Feeling the circulation start to flow back into my arms, I stumbled forwards—now free from my captors.

You could probably already guess what happened to me—I was caught, sent in to the hokage's office straight away for questioning; but you would be wrong.

That explanation was far too simple.

I was outsmarted is what happened—I overestimated myself immensely on how well my secret was kept.

And apparently, I was now paying the price for it.

ANBU had been watching me for months after the first confrontation with the bear masked guy—seemingly keeping tabs on every movement I made, word I spoke, etc.

They knew I was here—that I was currently residing with the last Uchiha—and I wouldn't be surprised if they knew my entire life story and reason for being here.

Was I scared? Completely.

Was I nervous? Utterly.

Was I mentally slamming my head against a wall for being so stupid? _You betcha_.

I shivered, feeling the cold look of the hokage's eyes cast upon me, trying to calculate exactly what to do with me.

What he _did_ do, though, surprised me.

"What is your name, child?" he asked, grandfatherly tone in his voice.

I blinked, gobsmacked beyond belief until I realized the underlying tone to his statement.

He was going to use kindness as a way to find out all my secrets. The question was whether or not I was going to let him.

I bit my lip, shifting from where I stood.

"My name is Susana, sir," I muttered, cringing at how meek my voice sounded.

His eyes snapped to where I stood, now fully aware of where I was standing. My invisibility would be my greatest advantage in this interrogation, and I was slowly forming ideas as to how to use it accordingly.

He rubbed his chin thoughtfully, wondering what his next words would be.

I, however, beat him to it.

"With all due respect, sir—I mean no ill will on the fire country—or Konohagakure for that matter," I rambled fast, trying not to stutter.

The air was oppressive—ANBU standing at every corner. I tried to remain composed, but with the authorative and slight killer intent seeping through and around the room, it was hard to calm my nerves.

Somehow, despite not being able to fully see me, the hokage's features softened completely, and he motioned for me to walk closer.

Taking a hesitant step, I stiffened when the ANBU moved in closer with me.

"It is fine—you are all dismissed," the hokage ordered, staring at me with kinder eyes.

They all disappeared in a flash, and I was left alone with the '_professor'_ of shinobi.

And honestly, I didn't know what was worse.

"You'll have to excuse the actions of ANBU—they only want to ensure that the village is safe," the hokage stated, eyes glinting in warmth, "but I must ask you, Susana, is the village safe?"

Swallowing the lump in my throat, I nodded, voicing my opinion aloud, "I am no danger—but that doesn't mean that the village won't _be_ in danger in the near future; it's funny really—I'm here to _prevent_ the danger."

The older man's eyebrows furrowed, a brief look of questioning played along his features, before they vanished completely.

The slightest of awkward silences ensued, and I couldn't help but twiddle my fingers out of desperate need to _do_ something.

I was out of my element here—I've come accustomed to the silent Uchiha manor and the even more silent Uchiha residing there—the friendly and loud atmosphere of the academy—even the dark and gloomy rooms of the training halls where Death would teach me.

This though—being interrogated within the large and heavily guarded room—being stared down by the _hokage_ himself—forced to reveal my secrets and have every detail about myself laid out into the open—was _definitely_ not something to be accustomed to.

Biting my lip, though, I pressed on—because this _was_ inevitable, and on some level, I always knew this would happen.

So now I needed to man up and face it.

"Hokage-sama," I piped up, swallowing the lump in my throat, "there are many matters to discuss; I ask that the information I'm about to give you stays between us—only because one of the dangers I speak of is closer than you think."

Seeing him visibly nod, and fold his hands, his eyes glinted—a weary smile forming onto his face.

"I'm all ears," he spoke, and I opened my mouth.

And I told him _everything_.

…

Knees shaking and shoulders stiff, I tried to keep it together for the rest of the conversation.

"Are you alright, Susana?" the hokage asked, looking a little shaken up as well at the new knowledge.

I remained silent, not knowing how to feel.

Hearing everything I need to do aloud just made everything _more_ real—more _vivid_. The situation just seemed to finally hit me for once.

It made me realize for the longest time, I knew what I had to do, but I didn't fully _grasp_ it. I didn't grasp how I would actually have to go out single-handedly and stop a _war_—that I would possibly have to go out and _kill_ people. Or maybe any plans I had to prevent a certain event could cause a whole new catastrophe—or _maybe_ people who didn't die originally would lose their lives in the after effect.

Saying everything made me realize that I truly didn't have the slightest clue.

And truthfully, I was scared.

I didn't want to mess anything up—I didn't want countless deaths for no reason.

I didn't want to do this _alone_.

"—sana? _Susana_. Susana!" I heard the hokage call, making me blink and swiftly look up at him.

Realizing he couldn't see this, I cleared my throat, before letting out a shaky breath, "Uh, yeah?"

He sighed heavily, leaning back in the old leather chair, puffing lightly on the pipe between his lips, "I understand the amount of stress a situation like this could put you under—you are still yet a child."

"Actually, I'm—!" I tried to cut off, but he put a hand up to stop me.

"A child physically, of course—mentally you are older; but that doesn't mean that makes the situation any less risky," he muttered, closing his eyes briefly as to think about his next set of words carefully, "I—I actually have a confession to make to you, Susana."

Furrowing my eyebrows, I felt absolute confusion, "A confession?"

He nodded, leaning forward onto his desk in thought, "Ah, yes—that is to say, I've known about your existence here for longer than you'd expect."

Dead still, I took a step closer, puzzled beyond belief, "What are you talking about?"

"The day you ended up here, I assume you appeared in the hospital? Where you met Sasuke for the first time—that day there was an odd fluctuation of chakra around there; so I had my suspicions." He stated, looking thoughtful.

All I could do was listen and nod, not sure of how to respond.

"There had also been odd rumors of mysterious things appearing and disappearing—and that weird noises could be heard from the Uchiha compound when no one was there—noises of girlish laughter, and sometimes random bouts of crashes and bangs."

Flushing, I realized I hadn't been as secretive as I'd originally thought—and that my cooking adventures (failure) could be heard throughout the village.

Pressing on, he continued, "What really sealed the deal was Naruto's chattering about a _'ghost girl'_ and how she was the _'teme's friend'_, as he put it."

Sighing, I couldn't help tiny chuckle that escaped my lips as he explained how Naruto blatantly gave away my secret.

_'Well, in hindsight, I didn't exactly tell him it was a secret,'_ I thought, rubbing my temple, _'make a note to do that next time.'_

"My point is, Susana," he spoke, brown eyes boring into mine, "that if I had known earlier about what your situation entailed, I would've stepped in sooner—but I figured to let things handle themselves—see whether you were a threat to the village or not; but you proved that you're going to be an asset."

Blinking, I was shocked at the revelation—completely unaware of what to say in response.

"But now that we have met, I do plan to step in—I may not know to the exact detail what the future holds, but I do know from what you have told me, the village will not be safe; and my assumption is that most of it will center around the Uchiha, won't it?" he asked, expression thoughtful.

Sighing, I nodded, ready to go out into full blown detail about the topic, "I know that you've told me not to tell you the exact detail of the future, but a major key is to have team seven consist of Sasuke, Naruto, a girl named Sakura Haruno and jounin leader Kakashi Hatake—if you don't, then the future I have seen will change—and I won't know what to do from then."

He nodded, thinking it over in his head, "So I assume Naruto is _also_ involved in this predicament as well, right?"

Smiling, I cross my arms, quirking an eyebrow, "are you surprised?"

By the slouched shoulders and weary expression, I could tell he wasn't.

Chuckling some more, I quickly sobered, a serious tone lacing my thoughts.

"Hokage-sama, before I leave," I murmured, catching his attention straight away, "my reason for being here is to help prevent the future from taking a wrong turn—Death put me here for a reason, and I'd like to think I could fulfill that reason—so I'm asking for your help. There will come a time sooner than you think when things will go haywire, and I'll have to try and stop those things—but I need political power on my side."

Biting my lip—because I didn't know what to say and how to say it—I watched as the hokage did something I didn't expect; he smiled.

It was one of those grandfatherly smiles that make you feel warm inside—like there's someone who really is proud of you—believes in you almost.

_'No wonder Naruto looks up to this guy so much,'_ I thought, distinctly distracted by the display.

"I can assure, Susana—you have my full support," he whispered, briefly nodding, before glancing out the window, "now get going before it gets too dark—people might not be able to see you, but it still isn't safe."

Smiling widely, I muttered a quick '_goodbye'_ before walking out the door and closing it behind me.

…

Upon opening the door to the Uchiha main house, I was immediately met with dark obsidian eyes narrowed into slits and an expression of complete 'you better explain yourself'.

Slipping through the door quietly, I undid the straps of my shoes and kicked them off, leaving them in a heap as I climbed up the stairs and towards his brooding and questioning figure.

I looked up once as he was about to speak, looking on with amusement as he was about to implode with questions as to why I just suddenly disappeared out of _nowhere_ and _where_ I had been for the past few hours.

"Where—?" he started, but I quickly wrapped my arms around him in a hug swiftly, putting all further questions to a complete stand still.

His shoulders visibly tensed, and I could tell he wasn't expecting _that_ to happen.

But I didn't care.

I just went through the most nerve-wracking day in my life, and I honestly couldn't help but feel such an immense relief wash over me at the thought of everything been _ok_.

The hokage would help me—I could actually stop things now—and _everything would be ok_.

Smiling softly, I released him just as quickly, laughing under my breath at the completely bewildered look on his face.

"Goodnight Sasuke," I stated, stepping back and turning to walk down the hall.

With slight giddiness making its way into my expression, I walked into my room, a sense of peace shifting through the atmosphere.

…

**Age 11—Sana—End**

All things come to an end—and the years before I would start ninja life were doing just that.

I would have to overcome things I didn't want to deal with sooner than I'd like—and risk my life daily as I try to prevent the horrible things I'd seen in the anime from actually happening.

But this wasn't an anime to me anymore—this was real life; and no matter how much I wanted to believe that this was all a dream and I was still alive, with the family and life I couldn't remember, I would still carry on and protect the new friends and family I _do_ remember.

And I mean, it's not like I was alone or anything in this, right?

Of course, Sasuke didn't know in depth about what I had to do.

But Sasuke was a different topic altogether.

And there was Death—he knew what I had to do, even if I didn't; along with the hokage, who would be my political support.

I could possibly factor in Naruto—because hell knows he'll end up in my plans sooner than later.

In time, I know there will be more people who will be there with me—who will help me defeat whatever evil will come Konoha's way.

We could do this—I could do this—and in the end, hopefully, everyone will be saved.

So, between preventing an apocalypse, saving an avenger, and all the while trying to stay sane, I think it's safe to say that I won't have a dull moment in my life.

And honestly, _I'll be ready_.

* * *

**Wow, i'm actually alive?**

**I took a small break from writing on behalf of focusing on my schoolwork and social life; but i've realized when i write i tend to focus better, or manage my time accordingly. So I'm back, and it's gonna be better than ever.**

**Anyway, I'm excited to start over a bit with this story; leaving it for a bit has made me realize new possibilities and ideas for how i could have the story play out. It gave me a sense of writing maturity, and i'm hype.**

**I owe it to you guys who still put up with my delayed updates, so thank you so much for reading and being a part of this process.**

**Any comments? Questions? Concerns? Let me know! **


	9. Chapter 8: First Impressions

**Summary: AU. When one dies, they don't expect to be brought back to life to help a lonely kid after a massacre. I've learned to start expecting the unexpected. **

**(OC-centric)**

_***All rights for the characters go to Masashi Kishimoto; except for mine of course***_

**(Updated 12/17/16)**

**Chapter 9**

_First Person POV_

Pale streams of light filled the room, and I dazedly blinked as I associated the dizzying brightness with morning.

Groaning, I rolled over in my bed—pulling thin and dark blue blankets over my head in attempt to go back to sleep.

But that wasn't going to happen—that never happened.

Five minutes later, with a present scowl and a lingering feeling of disorientation, I stumbled my way to the kitchen; taking notice of how I seemed to be the only person residing within the building at the current moment.

_'That over-achiever is probably training,' _I concluded, slinking into the chair and glancing with narrowed eyes at the clock, _'and it's only six in the morning! The academy doesn't even start till eight.'_

Grumbling, I sipped lightly on a cup of tea, dull green eyes fighting to close. Long story short—I stayed up too late, spending most of the day yesterday in the hokage tower, conversing on the upcoming teams and the jounin sensei's that would lead them.

I may or may not have forgotten which teams were which due to only knowing who the rookie nine were—but it wouldn't matter.

Those teams never passed in the real anime, so why would they pass now?

As cruel as it sounded, it didn't change the fact of it being true.

On that note, I didn't get much sleep, and the fact that I was now up at the crack of dawn—and had to go to the academy today—were all factors that led to my self-proclaimed disaster.

Resting my head on the counter, I let out one more groan before picking myself up and heading towards the bathroom—dead set on cleaning my hair and brushing my teeth.

Closing the door, I stripped quickly—turning the nozzle to the shower, and glancing quickly in the mirror.

Pausing, a brief memory of the same eleven year old me stared back—freckled and smiling face, green eyes bright and pale brown hair somewhat sane.

I was staring at the reflection of a face I've already become accustomed too in my old life—only this time, I was eleven years old for the second time.

There was also the fact that I looked more gaunt and pale compared to the suntanned original version of me—but it was a side effect of dying, I guess.

I was shaken out of my thoughts by the steam that seemed to seep over the curtain of the shower.

Turning on my heel, I ducked quickly into the water—rinsing my hair with shampoo and conditioner thoroughly, before jumping right out and grabbing the towel on the hanger to my right.

Shivering at the sudden and brisk coldness, I hurriedly stepped towards the sink, grabbing my toothbrush and setting to work on my morning routine.

About fifteen minutes later, I was set to go—wearing a plain pair of black shorts and a loose gray shirt—courtesy of going shopping and finally obtaining regular clothes.

Even if the style was a _bit_ different from what I was used to.

Pushing strands of hair out of my face as I strapped on the blue shinobi shoes—another perk of shopping—I continued through the hall, stepping down towards the front door and pushing my way out to the front porch.

Warmth hit me as soon as I stepped onto dirt road, and I smiled at the feeling.

_'The weather here is amazing,'_ I thought, distantly thinking of a cold city in comparison.

The hazy thought disappeared quickly, and I shrugged it off—choosing to instead break off into a sprint towards the main entrance.

I took note of how the buildings that I had seen all those years ago looked more run down—more eerie—and I mentally made it a mission to get them cleaned up sometime.

I continued running, large gates and an impatient figure standing just ahead.

Slowing to a stop directly in front of the scowling Uchiha, I grinned brightly—ignoring the irritation that rolled off him in waves.

"We're going to be late." He stated, turning on his heel and walking briskly forward, face still set into a scowl.

Sighing, I sent him a look, "We have twenty minutes before the academy starts—why are you in such a hurry?"

He ignored my question and continued walking, decidedly choosing not to converse with me in order to walk faster.

Wearing a scowl that seemed to rival his, I huffed, loosely shrugging and pulling my hair up in a high ponytail.

That is, when I nearly choked on my spit at a sight so familiar it was shocking.

Upon looking up to tie my hair, my eyes caught sight of the craziest thing in history; the hokage faces were painted on. Bright, vivid colors covered the once bleak and refined mountain—crude shapes decorated each face to make them resemble a clown.

It was flat out graffiti—I broke out into loud laughter at the sight.

Sasuke, curious as to why I was laughing like a loon, looked in the direction I was, saw the monument, and sighed.

Two things struck me at that moment:

Naruto was up to his usual shenanigans.

The beginning of _everything_ started today.

…

"I'm at the end of my rope Naruto!" Iruka lectured, glaring down at the tied up boy.

I was seated a few desks away, next to the uncaring avenger and Shikamaru—who looked just as bored as Sasuke was.

"You failed the graduation test last time and the time before that! Tomorrow you've got another chance—!"

Perking up at the word '_tomorrow'_, I shuddered as I realized that things I had expected to happen were about to _start_ happening.

"—and you're messing up again!" he continued, still scowling.

Naruto, the stubborn idiot that he is, looked away with a huff, making things worse.

Clenching a fist, Iruka's face turned red in frustration. His eyes stayed on Naruto for a second longer, before whirling around to look at the class.

"Fine! Because you _missed_ _it_, Naruto, _everyone_ will review the transformation jutsu!"

A collective groan resounded throughout the class, unhappy kids standing slowly and turning their narrowed eyes at Naruto in result.

_'Poor kid,'_ I thought, before sighing, _'he deserves it this time, though.'_

Remaining in my seat—because no one would see whether or not I attempted the jutsu or not—I watched as everyone lined up, similar looks of irritation laced in their expressions.

Sakura seemed to be at the beginning of the line, pink hair swishing as she took her spot in front of the class.

She bit her lip in concentration, forming a starting seal with her hands, "Alright! Sakura here—let's do it! Transform!"

Within seconds a large puff of smoke surrounded her, and I blinked in awe as she turned perfectly into Iruka.

_'For not having a lot of endurance and stamina in the beginning, she sure did make up for it by having great chakra control,'_ I thought to myself, propping my head up on my arms_, 'no wonder she became a great medic.'_

Iruka commented on her success, and another puff surrounded her—turning her back into herself.

She smiled widely, blushing as she turned to look at Sasuke, "Yes! I did it! Sasuke, did you see that?"

Eyes drifting from her to him respectively, I watched him as to see how he would respond. Sighing, I watched as he didn't even acknowledge her existence, and instead stepped up to the front.

Her face dropped, and she walked slowly towards the back of the line.

Grimacing at the site, I mentally rolled my eyes, _'he's such a jerk to her—but I can see how it would get annoying after a while.'_

I shuddered at the thought of constantly getting flirted with and stalked.

"Next," Iruka called, "Sasuke Uchiha!"

Sasuke lazily formed the seal, turning into Iruka within the blink of an eye.

"Ah, good," Iruka complimented, and Sasuke reverted back to normal, glancing at me with an arrogant look.

Once again, I rolled my eyes, choosing to ignore his ever growing ego.

"Next, Naruto Uzumaki!"

Green eyes sliding towards the orange clad boy, I noticed Ino and Shikamaru flanking him from either side, looking down right annoyed.

"This is such a total waste of time, Naruto," I heard the lazy Nara drawl, hand placed loosely into his pockets as he scowled.

"We always have to pay for your screw ups," Ino whined in comparison, scowl matching Shikamaru.

Naruto, on the other hand, looked like he couldn't care less, an expression on exasperation on his whiskered face, "Like I care," he shot back, and I felt my lips twitch into a small smirk.

He walked to the front at a casual pace, hands placed in his pockets as he started to smirk.

Swiftly placing his hands into a seal, I distantly saw blue wisps of chakra surround him as he gained energy, a look of pure smugness on his face and he initiated the jutsu.

Mind pausing, I stared in horror, realizing what he was about to do.

"Transform!" he called, turning quickly into the form of a naked adult version of a female Naruto.

The naked girl only had the coverage of smoke to keep her decent, blowing kisses at Iruka as she smiled seductively, and I groaned at the fact that Naruto was so stupid.

_'Where did he even learn this stuff?'_ I cried mentally, still watching in horror.

I would never know the answer to that question.

Like clockwork, Iruka's nose exploded with blood, blushing deeply at the site.

Naruto reverted back quickly, laughing loudly and maniacally at the reaction, "Gotcha! That's my sexy jutsu!"

Iruka flew forward with an angry face, pieces of tissue stuffed up his nose, _"Cut it out with the stupid tricks! This is your last warning!"_

Blinking, I stared at Iruka with wide eyes, _'I never knew he could yell that loud.'_

…

Night came and passed—and I found myself back at the academy once again, sitting with my head propped on my arms, ready to fall asleep.

_'I need to start going to bed earlier,'_ I thought to myself, eyes drifting lazily around the room, _'or this is going to start becoming a serious problem.'_

"It's time to start the final exam!" Iruka's chipper voice announced, causing me to jolt and stare at the front of the room with wide eyes, "When your name is called proceed to the testing room—the final test will be on the clone jutsu."

I stared somewhat in front of me, snickering as I saw Naruto completely flipping out.

Glancing at Sasuke, I nudged his side, "are you sure you're gonna be able to pass—this jutsu requires a lot of skill." I whispered, snickering as I was shot a glare.

"I can perform this jutsu—you, on the other hand…" he trailed off, looking back towards the front with amusement glinting in his eyes.

"Hey!" I whispered yelled, scowling at his smirking form.

"Uchiha, Sasuke!" the proctor exclaimed, calling the avenger to be tested.

I got up, sending him a quick thumbs up and motioning towards the door. He nodded discreetly, understanding what I was saying, and kept walking.

I made my way outside towards a group of kids—all clad in blue headbands and smiles. They were all celebrating with their parents, laughing and getting praised for their hard work.

Smiling at the happy look on all of their faces, I plopped down on the side on the building, waiting patiently for the avenger.

It didn't take long—the arrogant boy came sauntering out with a proud smirk, forehead adorned in the same blue headband as everyone else.

I was at his side soon enough, rolling my eyes for the millionth time at his ever growing ego.

Turning a bit to the side, I caught sight of a certain whiskered boy—eyes downcast and face utterly hopeless.

Heart clenching at the sight, I bit my lip, deciding whether or not to intervene.

I peeked over at Sasuke, who knew what I was thinking the second I looked at him.

He gave no reply, and I soon turned back around, sad eyes slowly turning into anger at the two girls that were before him.

I knew this episode—I knew those girls—and I knew that no matter what, I was going to intervene.

"There, you see him," the snooty girl pointed out, showing her friend.

"It's that boy," the other whispered, voice lowered due to whispering, "I hear he's the only one who failed."

I was a few steps away now, determination running through my veins.

"Hmph, well, it serves him right—!"

I was right in front of them now, face set in an ever present scowl as I stared into their hatred filled eyes.

"I dare you to finish that thought," I whispered as darkly as I could, aiming to scare them away and take advantage at the fact of being invisible.

Their faces slowly morphed into terror, staring at what they thought was just 'air'.

Screaming, they backed away, grabbing their children and turning swiftly in the other direction.

I sighed, glancing back to see Naruto stare a bit in shock and confusion, before being roped into a conversation with Mizuki.

Narrowing my eyes at the pale haired man, I knew that what would happen next would need to be resolved without my help—and that I should just butt out for once and head home.

And so I did.

Sasuke walked casually to my left, hands placed in his pockets and face blank as he stared ahead.

I was still fuming at the nerve of those mothers—not appreciating the fact that they didn't even know Naruto enough to say the things they wanted to say.

Biting my lip, I realized Sasuke wouldn't be the only one I would try to help—and I was slightly resenting that fact.

But I knew dreading it was hopeless—I would end up helping anyone I can solely because I know it can be prevented.

"You know," Sasuke spoke, glancing at me from the corner of his eye, "you won't be able to help everyone in every situation, right?"

The comment was eerily similar to my track of thinking, and I had to compose myself before actually responding.

I had squeezed my eyes shut, sighing deeply with such a helpless look, "I know—but I'll still try to."

He gave me an unreadable look—there were too many thoughts laced within it for me to actually try and decipher it—before turning back towards the road, pace still casual.

Externally, I remained blank—internally, however, I was practically screaming.

How do you just ignore something when you know the outcome—when you know you can change said outcome?

And I feel like that would forever be my fatal flaw.

Hopefully—it won't be as fatal as the name describes.

…

Later that night, uproar began in the village—ANBU were found running around the village in hordes, asking if anyone had seen Naruto or if they knew his whereabouts.

Sasuke gave me a look as to say _'I know you know what's going on, and you better not interfere'._

I sunk back into the couch, lying face down on the plush cushions—a clear indicator that I agreed with his statement.

I knew Naruto would take the news of him being a jinchuuriki well—and on top of that he'd pass the exam and become a ninja.

That didn't mean I didn't worry for the whiskered boy.

…

Birds chirping, sun shining—it was the start to a perfect day.

Well, _almost_.

I forgot to factor in the panicked shouting and the irritated yelling.

"We're going to be late!" Sasuke shouted, voice echoing down the hall.

And guess where I was at this time?

Lying in bed, just waking up.

Shouting at the top of my lungs, I rolled out of bed—jumping up quickly and snatching a pair of clothes.

Running quickly to the bathroom, I brushed my teeth, throwing on the pair of clothes and pulling my hair up into a loose bun.

I had no time to look presentable today.

Not if I didn't want to anger the already angry avenger.

"I'm leaving without you," he called again, and by this time I was tripping over my own two feet.

Stuffing my shoes wildly into my shoes, I ran out the door into a frenzy—because I was not going to miss today—today was the day teams were established—and I'd be _damned_ if I didn't go.

I made a point to him about that last night—which was met with an eye roll and a grunt of '_whatever'_.

Slamming the door shut, I sprinted quickly, catching up to the briskly walking Uchiha with labored breaths.

He took one glance at me, raised an eyebrow, and turned forward, continuing down the dirt path.

"Good morning to you too, Sasuke," I chatted sarcastically, hopping on one leg as I fixed my shoe.

"Hn." He stated, clearly not in the mood.

The market squares were bustling and lively as ever—despite the fact that it was quite early.

Mothers were sending their children off with warm hugs and smiles—and I could tell it slightly bothered Sasuke that he didn't receive the same send off.

But I chose not to mention it—and I don't think I ever would.

Within minutes of awkward walking and busy streets, I found myself sitting at an academy desk, watching curiously as I saw kids walk in with their headbands on.

_'There not academy kids anymore,'_ I thought, glancing around, _'and most of them won't get a team—I wonder what happens to them if they don't pass the team trials.'_

My thoughts were interrupted as a slightly giddy and dopey smiling Naruto sat down, not fully aware it was next to his so called 'rival'.

_'He's so excited he doesn't even register what's going on around him.'_

Sasuke gave me a discreet look, "Is him passing part of what you wanted to intervene with?" he whispered, giving me a look.

I shrugged, choosing not to answer.

He rolled his eyes, before glancing apathetically towards front of the class.

I paid no mind to his antisocial behavior, and instead listened in on the conversation between Shikamaru and Naruto:

"What are you doing here? This isn't for dropouts; you can't be here unless you graduate." The Nara drawled, looking at Naruto with a bored expression.

Naruto looked up, giddy expression gone and instead a know it all look in its place, "Oh yeah? Do you see this? Open your eyes Shikamaru it's a regulation headband," he listed off, pointing to the headband with a smile, "we're gonna be training together! How do you like that?"

Smiling at the boys antics, my attention was soon on the duo arguing at the front of the class.

"I'm first!" Ino and Sakura proclaimed in unison, huffing and glaring at each other.

Bewildered, I looked at Sasuke with a raised eyebrow—he, in turn, sighed and chose to ignore whatever his 'crazy fangirls' were doing.

Bickering, the two girls' voices rose in volume, debating on who was first and who won.

I found the banter quite annoying, along with the rest of those who were paying attention; Naruto, on the other hand, blushed a deep red, gaze fixated on Sakura.

Eyes lighting up in recognition, I snapped my fingers, ready to slap myself.

_'I can't believe I forgot Naruto was totally in love with Sakura in the beginning.'_

Watching as Sakura turned in our direction, I was full out snickering beside Sasuke when Naruto thought she was looking at him.

Sasuke was giving me weird looks, most likely questioning what my deal was.

Pointing towards the blushing Naruto and the smiling Sakura, he slowly realized—and I saw a tiny glint of amusement develop in his eyes.

As quickly as it appeared, it disappeared—replaced with indifference and aloofness.

_'So much for conversation, Sasuke.'_

"Hi Sakura! What's up?" Naruto asked, smile wide and shining.

I hadn't even realized the pink haired girl was standing so close until she grumbled at Naruto and pushed him aside—face morphing into 'sweet' and 'innocent' as soon as he was out of the way.

_'Scary.'_ I shuddered, not liking the complete attitude change.

She clasped her hands together, face as red as Naruto's had been as she smiled widely at the aloof boy next to me.

"Uh, good morning Sasuke," she stated hesitantly, eyes hopeful.

Sasuke made no move to acknowledge her, and I swiftly scowled and elbowed his side.

He cringed at the impact and slowly turned to face the girl, face back to being blank.

She took it as a cue to continue, "Mind if I sit next to you?"

Ino came walking up to her suddenly, reaching out to grab her arm with furrowed eyebrows, "Back off forehead! I'm sitting next to Sasuke!"

Sakura's innocent demeanor vanished and instead turned into agitation as she sent Ino a look, "I was here first," she grumbled through her teeth.

With her hands on her hips, Ino started bickering back, "I walked into the classroom before you did! Everybody saw it!"

Sakura rolled her eyes, leaning closer, "Dream on!"

And then suddenly, a whole group of girls joined into the argument, making claims of how they all got there first.

I made a very hard and conscious effort to try and hide the fact that I was about to erupt into giggles—and by the way Sasuke was glaring at me, I knew I had failed.

And then suddenly Naruto was on top the desk, face close and eyes glaring daggers into Sasuke.

Leaning back a bit, I was completely caught off guard—and then I remembered something.

Was I going to stop this moment from happening?

Nope.

Would I escape this moment without the Uchiha getting angry with me?

Most likely not.

Was I going to laugh hysterically and tease Sasuke about the moment to come for the rest of his life?

You betcha.

Naruto's face was reflecting his inner thoughts of _'why does everyone think Sasuke is so great?' _and whatnot.

Sasuke's face reflected that fact that he was annoyed and slightly irritated.

And mine? My face was reflecting the fact that I fully anticipated the moment to come.

The glaring match continued for a few seconds, bolts of electricity seeming to form between them from how intense the gazes were.

"Naruto!" Sakura screeched, "Hey! Stop glaring at Sasuke!"

All was ruined when the boy behind Naruto sat up quickly.

Everything and everyone froze.

Complete masks of confusion that slowly turned into horror filled the faces of the fangirls behind us, eyes wide and faces terrified.

At this point I trying desperately not to pee my pants.

Naruto and Sasuke were _kissing_.

And apparently, I was the only one who found this funny.

The kiss only lasted a few seconds—in that time the two boys fully realized what had just happened, processed it, and then broke apart to gag.

Naruto was full out wiping at his mouth and gagging—and Sasuke wasn't too far behind in that matter.

Sasuke's disgusted eyes landing on me—and undaunted horror filled his gaze, before it slowly morphed into annoyance.

I, currently, was still laughing despite the full on glares he was sending me.

"I-I didn't k-know you played for t-the other team, S-Sasuke," I choked out, tears streaming down my face, "I guess I understand why y-you never paid attention to the f-fangirls!"

Dark obsidian eyes filled with irritation, and I was sent repeated whispered lines of '_shut_ _up'_ and '_I'm_ not _gay'_.

Naruto, on the other side of the bench, was facing his own problems.

At this time, the fangirls were swarming around him, eyes dead set on him and hands formed into fists as they prepared to attack.

From my perspective, they looked like rabid dogs.

Iruka, finally walking in, took one glance at the site, before quickly diffusing the situation.

"Alright class! Calm down! As of today you are all ninjas—to get here you all faced difficult times and hardships—but that's nothing. What comes next will be far more difficult. Now you are only genin—first level ninjas—all the genin will be grouped into teams of three—each team will be led by a jounin, an elite ninja."

That seemed to catch everyone's attention—especially the fangirls.

Collectively, they were all thinking of who exactly would be on Sasuke's team—and Sasuke himself seemed to dread this fact.

"We want each squad to have a balance of their strengths and abilities—so that is how the teams are based," Iruka explained, holding up a piece of paper to begin listed each respective team, "I will announce the squads."

I tuned out most of the listings, cracking a smile when he announced the members of team seven—along with the rest of the rookie nine.

I instead drifted into my thoughts, thinking of events that were about to happen.

_'I definitely forgot about the whole kissing moment until seconds before it actually happened,_' I pondered, looking out the window, _'but I don't want it to be like that when an actually important moment happens—what if it's a life or death situation and I only realize right before we got killed? My intel is basically pointless then.'_

I was brought back to reality as the bickering began to start between all three members of team seven.

Sighing, I rolled my eyes—cynically remembering I was stuck with this bunch for the rest of my life.

_'I just gotta make the best of it, I suppose.'_

"After lunch you'll meet your new jounin sensei's—until then class dismissed."

…

Currently, I found myself laughing hysterically for the second time that day—along with being on the receiving end of the biggest glare yet.

"Y-you," I laughed, nearly crying, "you just g-got beat! W-what happened to t-that Uchiha superiority! And out of e-everyone to t-take you down it w-was _Naruto_!"

Let's just say Sasuke got ambushed after he was complaining about his team slowing him down, and was currently tied up and gagged.

"T-this is t-too priceless!" I continued laughed, holding my stomach and wiping at my eyes.

He was mumbling something, eyes still glaring and eyes glinting in anger.

Sighing, I sobered up, rolling my eyes at his childishness.

Leaning down I ripped the tape off his mouth, setting to work on the ropes around his wrists.

"I let my guard down," he growled as soon as he was untied, eyes narrowed and shoulders tense.

"You keep telling yourself that."

Ignoring me, he clenched his fists, "I'm going to kill him."

Snickering, I watched as he paced around in thought, probably thinking of ways to commit said deed.

Unexpectedly, he headed towards the window and leaped out, face determined and body rigid.

"Hey!" I shouted, following quickly behind, "wait for me!"

…

I caught up sometime later, walking into a conversation between him and Sakura.

Of course, I knew what this conversation entailed—Sasuke's questioning, Sakura's confusion and rant about why she hates Naruto, and then Sasuke completely crushing her as he argues back in surprising defense of Naruto.

As he walked off, eyes narrowed and aura dark, I caught sight of Sakura's hurt expression as I walked past.

_'Do I do the right thing?'_

A tiny voice in the back of my mind seemed to answer for me, _'Do you really have to ask?'_

I turned around, shoulders tensed and lips parted, "Don't mind him Sakura," I muttered, shocking the poor girl as she tried to find out where the voice was coming from, "he's still hurting, give him time."

And with that I turned back around, not caring that she couldn't see me—and continued towards the currently annoyed Uchiha.

_'I need to stop intervening.'_

Moments later I caught sight of Sasuke, rushing quickly towards his side in effort to make sure he didn't kill Naruto.

"You know you were a little harsh to her, right?" I mumbled as we continued walking, making a point not to look at him.

I felt his gaze on me for the briefest of moments, before it was gone and I was given a reply of '_hn'_.

_'That's how I thought this conversation was going to go._'

A loud sounding of running filled my ears, and I turned with wide eyes to see Naruto skidding to a stop in front of us, eyes as wide as mine.

"Sasuke!" he exclaimed, completely surprised, "what are you doing here? How did you escape?"

Sasuke smirked arrogantly, past conversation with Sakura forgotten as he stared down at Naruto.

"I used the escape jutsu—no sweat—it's a very simple technique." He drawled, and I whirled around to face him with a raised eyebrow.

_'Escape jutsu my ass.'_

He continued despite the looks I was sending him, "Now why did you do that? Transform into me?"

"I thought it be fun to try my moves on you, so I did." Naruto replied, quickly moving into position and forming a seal as he transformed into multiple clones.

All collectively leaping at him, Sasuke cursed and mumbled something about how '_it was the same technique again_'.

The multiple Naruto's started ranting about how once he beats him then Sasuke will recognize that he's the best and whatnot.

'_Boys_,' I thought, rolling my eyes and I got into position.

But it turns out there wasn't going to be a fight after all.

Naruto stopped mid jump as a loud noise erupted from his stomach—a complete look of discomfort and panic lacing his expression.

Confused, Sasuke and I raised an eyebrow, trying to figure out was going on.

The entirety of the clones started bickering and fought each other to get into the bathroom, not realizing that most of them weren't real.

Shaking my head, I glanced at Sasuke as he muttered about Naruto being such a loser—and sadly, I couldn't help but agree.

…

"He's late." Naruto groaned, voicing everyone's opinion.

We all sat spaced out among the classroom—Sasuke chose to sit close to the door, hands laced together and eyes dead set on the space before him—Naruto had chosen to stand and flitter around the door, peeking out every second as to see if Kakashi was there—and Sakura had chosen to lean against a desk, arms crossed and face weary.

I, myself, chose to sit at the desk above Sasuke, lying on the smooth surface with a bored expression.

_'I knew that Kakashi was typically late,' _I thought, face screwed up into a scowl_, 'but I never realized he would be _this_late.'_

"Naruto," Sakura scolded, getting irritated, "just sit down!"

Like a child, Naruto turned with a stubborn scowl "I don't want to! How come our teacher is the only one who's late? I'm ready to roll! Believe it!"

_'Ah, yes, the famous catch phrase.'_

"The other groups met their teachers," he continued, looking ready to burst, "Iruka sensei's gone too!"

Shaking her head, Sakura tiredly looked up, "We already know, ok?"

Shaking my head as well, I wondered why she hadn't snapped already.

_'That just means when she does it won't be pretty.'_

"Hey," she called, catching my attention, "what are you doing?"

Looking at Naruto, I noticed him placing an eraser on the top of the door.

Catching sight of Sasuke looking on with interest as well, I hopped off the desk and walked a bit closer, resting a hand on my hip.

"Naruto," Sakura scolded, glaring up at the giggling boy.

"That's what he gets for coming late—_surprise_," Naruto grinned, hopping down from the stool.

With her hands on her hips, Sakura continued to scold him about how they'd get in trouble, and how he shouldn't do things like that.

Looking at Sasuke, I laughed lightly, "She secretly hopes that it's going to work," I mumbled, watching as he rolled his eyes in response.

"Our teacher's a jounin," Sasuke stated, smirking into his folded hands, "you think he'd fall for _that_?"

"Yeah," Sakura agreed, hands still on her hips, "Sasuke's right! You're so clueless Naruto!"

_'Of course Sasuke's right, dear—you keep telling yourself that.'_

The moment of truth finally happened as a hand appeared on the door.

Casually walking through, I watched in amusement and Kakashi blinked as the eraser plopped onto his wild hair, sending chalk dust everywhere.

Naruto's reaction of mocking laughter was instantaneous, while Sakura's apologies seemed to string from her mouth one by one. Sasuke's apparent disbelief is what made me crack up.

As Kakashi got over his initial confusion, he knelt down and picked up the eraser, looking up to gauge the group of genin in front of him. His eyes slowly worked their way over Sakura and Naruto, landing on Sasuke and then surprisingly going to me.

His look quickly disappeared as he began to fumble the eraser in his hands, "Hmm, how can I put this," he asked, rubbing his chin, "my first impression of this group—_you're a bunch of idiots."_

…

**Yo! Currently I'm trying to update everything as soon as possible so I can move on with the min arc, so y'all are gonna have to wait just a bit longer. Thank you so much for your patience. **

**Anyway, any questions? Comments? Concerns? Let me know guys! Review!**

**Thanks for reading!**


	10. Chapter 9: Bells

**Summary: AU. When one dies, they don't expect to be brought back to life to help a lonely kid after a massacre. I've learned to start expecting the unexpected. **

**(OC-centric)**

_***All rights for the characters go to Masashi Kishimoto; except for mine of course***_

**(Updated: 12/17/16)**

**Chapter 10**

_First Person POV_

"Why don't you introduce yourselves? One at a time."

Kakashi's voice sounded casual, aloof in a sense—but I could tell by the glint in his eye that he was calculating everything we did.

The question would be able to key him in on how team seven would function as a whole—and the idea itself was as genius as he was.

Sitting to the side to avoid an awkward moment—because if my cover was blown this soon it would be an embarrassment—I twiddled my thumbs boredly, smiling softly at the distant memory of this episode.

_'It's weird to refer to this as an episode,'_ I recalled, crinkling my nose, _'let's put that under a list of 'things not to say anymore'.'_

"Introduce ourselves?" Sakura piped up from Sasuke's side, emerald eyes glinting in question, "well, what are we supposed to say?"

A sole dark eye looked up in questioning as Kakashi pretended to ponder the thought, an aura of pure '_uncaringness'_ was surrounding him.

"Things you like," he gestured, still thinking, "Things you hate—dreams for the future—_hobbies_. Things like that." He crossed his arms as he finished, looking at the newly formed team seven with the same calculating eyes.

Naruto seemed to be put off by the statement, furrowing his eyebrows in reply, "Why don't you tell us about you first," he suggested, arms crossed similarly like Kakashi's, "I mean, so we can see how it works."

Kakashi's eyebrow seemed to rise in question, "Me?" he asked, pointing to himself, leaning forward slightly from his perch on the railing.

"Well," he started, getting over his initial question, "I'm Kakashi Hatake—things I like and things I hate—I don't feel like telling you that—as for my dreams for the future? Never really thought about it. My hobbies? I have lots of hobbies."

Snickering at the disgruntled faces, I ignored Sasuke's look of utter disbelief and just smiled widely, as if to say '_this'll be fun'._

"Well, that was totally useless—all he really told us was his name" Sakura grumbled under her breath, and a silent agreement resounded through the group.

"Ok," Kakashi interrupted, easing the tension, "your turn—you on the right, you're first."

Naruto smiled brightly, eyes seeming to perk up at being called before anyone else. Fiddling with his headband, his smile seemed only to grow, "Believe it! My name is Naruto Uzumaki—I like instant ramen in a cup and I _really_ like the ramen Iruka sensei got me at the Ichiraku noodle shop; but I hate the three minutes you have to wait when you pour the water in the ramen cup. My hobby is eating different kinds of ramen and comparing them—and my future dream is to be the greatest hokage! Then the whole village will stop disrespecting me and start treating me like I'm somebody important!"

"The future hokage sure was obsessed with ramen," I whispered under my breath absentmindedly, disregarding the weird look Sasuke was sending me.

Kakashi had an unamused look and his face, before deciding to let Naruto just be Naruto. "Alright," he called, eyes settling on Sakura, "next."

Smile just as bright as Naruto's had been, she blushed, eyes crinkling, "My name's Sakura Haruno! What I like—uhm—I mean the person I like is—!" She interrupted herself as she blushed deeper, sending a loving look at the avenger that sat next to her.

It was strange to see fangirling so up close—I couldn't really blame Sasuke for being so emotionally dry around this girl.

_'The Sakura in Shippuden is the total opposite—did Sasuke leaving have that much of an effect on her that it changed her so completely?'_

I paused a second more, considering the thought.

_'Hopefully, if all goes well, we won't have to find out.'_

"Uh," she started again, still stuttering, "my hobby is—uh—my dream for the future is—!"

As she ended a second time, she ended in loud squeals, probably imagining her and Sasuke getting married.

Rolling my eyes, I nudged Sasuke discreetly, "You better watch out," I whispered, smiling widely, "she has plans to marry you before you even said yes to her proposal."

"Shut up," Sasuke whispered under his breath, turning away and choosing to ignore my existence as he focused more on the conversation.

"What do you hate?" Kakashi asked, looking as if he was regretting his question.

Sakura's eyes darkened as she turned quickly towards the whiskered boy, "Naruto!"

The boy in question looked like he was screaming internally, obviously pouting at the pink haired girl.

"Uh, next one," he spoke uncertainty, not knowing whether or not he wanted to finish these introductions.

Peeking up slightly, I was curious to hear how Sasuke would respond.

_'Hopefully I didn't make anything worse and just set him farther down a path of death and destruction,'_ I thought, eyes turning pleading as I continued to stare at him, _'please tell me I'm wrong—_please _tell me I'm _wrong_.'_

Sasuke's obsidian eyes trailed up slowly, hands still folded and face still aloof, "My name is Sasuke Uchiha—I hate a lot of things—and I don't particularly _like_ anything,"

His next words though, seemed to change my viewpoint completely.

"What I have is not a dream—but an ambition; I want to find a certain man to take revenge for my clan—and become strong enough to protect the ones around me. I will not stop until that is made a reality."

Choking on my own spit, I silently stared with wide eyes at the ebony haired boy, shocked beyond belief.

_'Did he just—did he really—?'_ I thought, not able to form coherent thoughts, _'is this even Sasuke?'_

"Well," Kakashi, seeming surprised as well, cut in, distracting me from my nervous paranoia, "you're each unique and you have your own ideas—we'll have our first mission tomorrow."

Excited, Naruto bounced up, face shining and smile bright, "What kind of mission are we going to have?"

"It's a task," Kakashi spoke slowly, causing tension, "that that four of us will do _together_."

_'I hadn't noticed that he had sent hints on what the bell test was about before now,'_ I thought, cocking an eyebrow, _'sneaky.'_

"What," Naruto chatted, eagerness lacing his expression and tone, "what, what, _what_?!"

The air grew heavy suddenly, and I was literally about to jump out of my skin.

_'The sudden drop in temperature _better _be because Kakashi's trying to scare them,'_ I thought, paranoia still running through my veins.

"A survival exercise," Kakashi muttered, tone more intense than before.

Everyone looked up in confusion.

"Huh? A _survival exercise_?"

"I thought we were supposed to have a real mission," Sakura raved, "not more practice—we already did this stuff at the academy! That's how we got _here_."

Not put off by Sakura's rant in the least, Kakashi continued, arms crossed and tone still intense, "This isn't like your previous training."

With furrowed eyebrows, Sasuke pitched in, "So what kind of training is it then?"

Kakashi let loose an eerie laugh, sending chills down my spine—if I hadn't known he was only acting this way to scare everyone else, I would've be halfway out the door by now.

"Hey," Sakura said, a little unnerved, "hold on, that was a normal question—what's so funny about that?"

"Well," Kakashi muttered in a sing-song voice, still laughing, "if I told you the answer—you aren't going to _like_ it."

He only received blank stares.

"Of the twenty-seven graduates that just came here, only _nine_ will actually be accepted as genin—the other eighteen will be weeded out and sent back to the academy. In other words, this is a make it or break it, pass-fail test—and the chance that you'll fail is at least sixty-six percent."

_'Well doesn't he have a way with words,_' I balked, not sure how to react.

Everyone else, however, was either in disbelief or in shock.

"See," he asked, leaning forward, "didn't I tell you, you weren't going to like it?"

"That's crazy!" Naruto exploded, eyes as wide as saucers, "we worked hard to get here! Believe it! What was that graduation test for anyway?!"

"Oh that," Kakashi asked casually, "that was just to select candidates who _might_ become genin. Or not."

Naruto looked ready to burst at his answer.

"That's how it is—I decide whether you pass or fail; be at the designated training spot at five—and bring your ninja gear."

Leaning back, I took in everyone's look of inner monologue—slightly relieved I wasn't in the same situation.

_'Or am I,'_ I silently thought, paling.

_'I better ask the hokage how we're going to handle my—er—_situation_.'_

"That's it!" Kakashi called, waving at us, "you're all dismissed—oh, tomorrow you better skip breakfast—or else you'll _puke_."

And with that he left us alone, disappearing into a puff of smoke.

…

Earlier this morning I had tried to explain Kakashi's late habits—also throwing in that we didn't have to show up until at least ten, and that breakfast was a must have.

But of course, Sasuke thought otherwise—choosing to leave early and skip breakfast like told.

Which leads us to our current predicament.

"What do you mean you're not going?" Sasuke asked me, tone laced with exhaustion and eyes still disoriented from sleep.

But don't let me fool you—he still had a full on glare up and ready to go.

From where I was lying on the couch, I returned the glare, "I _mean_ that Kakashi won't be at the training area until like _eleven_ or something—the guy is practically _known_ for being late. Why on earth would you want to leave now when he's going to be late?"

A few more seconds of glaring contests and narrowed eyes continued, the atmosphere growing more intense as time ticked on by.

He paused, glare faltering slightly before regaining in vigor, "I don't believe you."

_'Figures.'_

I rolled my eyes, letting a long, strung out groan escape from my lips.

"You don't believe me?" I asked, voice hushed and in a whisper, wanting nothing more to go back to sleep.

I could tell by now he was unsure of his words—probably because I was now speaking in tired whispers—or maybe because he could see the logic in my answer.

But that didn't matter—Sasuke's pride and stubbornness outweighed logic.

"I don't." he stated, eyes determined and posture saying the same.

_'He wants to drag this out? Fine.'_

Standing up swiftly, I kept my face blank, folding my arms over my chest as I forced myself awake.

Now staring him directly in the eye—because he and I were practically the same height as of right now—I smirked, parting my lips to speak.

"Fine—we can leave now; but when Kakashi doesn't show up until eleven, you're gonna owe me lunch."

The avenger nodded, arrogant smirk on his face, believing that he couldn't _possibly_ be wrong

"You're on."

…

"So," I stated in a hushed whisper from beside the currently half-awake avenger, "what do you plan on getting me for lunch?"

It was currently the time I had originally described—eleven o'clock.

And guess who wasn't here yet?

Kakashi.

I was met with a withering scowl and a dark look, "Shut up, Sana."

Waving off his grumpiness, I lied down on the cool grass, watching as Naruto let out a loud yawn.

Mirroring the action, albeit much quieter, I couldn't help the satisfaction that slithered its way on my face, smirking with closed eyelids at the sky.

"Morning, everyone." Kakashi's monotone voice greeted, shaking everyone out of their tired stupor, "ready for your first day?"

I felt a large, angry presence flare up from behind me, and turned with wide eyes at the furious form of Sakura Haruno.

Her eyebrows were furrowed in aggravation, hand pointing accusingly at the incredibly late copy-cat ninja.

"Hey!" she and Naruto called in unison, irritation leaking into their tone. "You're late!"

Kakashi, on the other hand, looked nonplussed—almost like he expected the reaction.

"Well a black cat crossed my path," he stated, rubbing a hand through his hair with a closed-eyed smile, "so I had to take the long way."

Naruto was full out gaping at the man, while Sakura's look of irritation didn't falter in the slightest.

Even Sasuke was looking like he was ready to burst.

"Well," Kakashi spoke, eyeing the group, "let's get started."

Confused, we all watched as he made his way over to a tiny clock, tapping the top of it and turning back towards us, "here we go—it's set for noon."

Naruto made another sound of confusion, staring weirdly at the man before us.

Then suddenly the sound of bells made its way to my ears, causing me to look directly towards the object.

Kakashi's hands held the tiny silver bells high enough to be seen by the entire group, and I smiled silently about what was to come.

'_I can't influence things too severely,'_ I thought, glancing at the group individually, '_but I can try to change their viewpoints on this test.'_

"Your assignment is very simple," he muttered nonchalantly, "you just have to take these bells from me."

By now, the confusion—along with disbelief—was practically thickening in the air around us.

"If you can't get them by noon, you go without lunch," Kakashi explained, nodding towards the three posts behind us, "and you'll be tired to those, and watch while I eat my lunch in front of you."

_'You evil, sadistic man.'_ I thought to myself with a knowing smile as I glanced to an outraged Naruto and a deadpanning Sasuke and Sakura.

_'They must realize why Kakashi told them not to eat by now,'_ I laughed internally, green eyes glinting as they made contact with an annoyed Sasuke.

"Wait a minute," Sakura called, eyebrows furrowed as she stared directly at Kakashi, "there's three of us; how come there's only two bells?"

Shivering as Kakashi eye-smiled with a small chuckle, I thanked Death that I wasn't involved in this crazy guy's training.

"Well that way, only one of you will be tied to a post, and will ultimately be disqualified for not being able to complete the mission," she announced, eye-smile deepening as he smoke again, "that one gets sent _back_ to the academy."

The air grew tense around us as all three genin grew determined at the news, realizing how grave it was to get that bell and complete this insane exercise.

"Then again," he elaborated, "all three of you could flunk out too—you can use any weapon, even shuriken. If you're not prepared to kill me, you won't be able to take the bells."

At this, he jingled the bells once again for emphasis, staring at each member directly with a look of complete seriousness.

Sakura just stared on gobsmacked, "Those weapons are too dangerous sensei!"

Looking amused as Naruto placed his arms behind and laughed heartedly, I watched as he proclaimed that Kakashi couldn't even dodge an eraser.

_'Oh Naruto,'_ I thought, sighing deeply for the orange-clad boy, _'no wonder you got tied to the post.'_

"Class clowns are usually the weakest links—you can safely ignore them."

I had to bite my lip to keep myself from laughing out loud at the suddenly angry expression Naruto made.

"Anyway," Kakashi pressed on, "when I say start, you can begin."

Hearing the sound of kunai being twirled quickly, and the sound of a grumbling Naruto, I promptly moved to the side with a shocked expression as he came barreling past—eyes set in an angry scowl and teeth clenched.

Sharing a wide-eyed look with a disbelieving Sasuke, I turned back to see the whiskered boy rush at Kakashi with the kunai poised to strike.

Right as he swung his hand was caught, Kakashi easily evading the weapon as he spun Naruto around and aimed the sharp knife at the back of the boy's neck.

"Woah," I whispered, eyes wide is awe and slight surprise.

"Don't be in such a hurry," Kakashi muttered as the dust cloud around the two cleared, "I didn't say 'start' yet."

Sakura and Sasuke stepped back in unison, suddenly wary at the new display of advanced skills.

A moment passed, and Kakashi released Naruto from his grip, leaving the boy to stumble forward with a grunt, rubbing his shoulder tenderly.

"But," Kakashi praised, "you came at me with the intent to destroy me, so—how can I say this?—I'm actually starting to like you guys."

The wind picked up lazily as he finished his words, leaving everyone to slowly process his words.

"Get ready," he drawled, causing everyone to tense, "and start!"

With that, everyone rushed off in a flash, moving to different directions of the field.

I, one the other hand, was dragged quite quickly into a hiding position at the edge of the clearing, a bit dazed at the sudden movement. Glancing over to see the focused face of Sasuke as he watched on with narrowed eyes, I figured it was a now or never moment to influence the test.

"Do you trust me?" I suddenly asked, causing him to slowly look at me through the corner of his eye.

I never received a verbal answer, so I took his silence as a means to continue.

"This test is supposed to trick you," I explained, pushing strands of hair away from my face as I continued, "think about it; what normal genin team is only comprised of two members? You have to work together with them, Sasuke, in order to pass."

His eyebrows were furrowed, eyes not peering at me but instead staring back at the field, dark and calculating. Watching as he shifted his weight and gained a new hunched position behind the foliage, he seemed to be struggling to come to terms with my words.

"Fine," he stated, low and strangled, as if the word had a bitter taste, "But you better not be wrong, Sana."

"We need to find Sakura first," I strategized, ignoring his threat and rolling onto the soles of my feet as I stood, "We can form a plan and then find Naruto and fill him in after."

Right as he nodded, a familiar loud voice rang clear through the middle of the clearing; cerulean eyes ablaze with determination as the stared the copy-nin down.

"Found Naruto," Sasuke sighed, seemingly reconsidering my preposition of teamwork.

I couldn't blame him.

"You and me, right now, fair and square! Let's go!" Naruto shouted, arms crossed and eyes crinkled shut.

Kakashi actually seemed to be bewildered by the action as he stared incredulously at the boy.

From a farther distance away, I could hear the light murmur of '_fool'_, keying me in on exactly who was hiding there.

"You know," Kakashi muttered, shoulders slouched, "compared to the others, you're a little bit…_weird_."

Cackling quietly as I heard Naruto's indignant shout, I proceeded to watch the exchange with amusement glinting in my eyes.

"Oh ya?! The only thing weird here is your haircut!"

About to completely lose it, I held a hand over my mouth just about the same time Naruto leapt at Kakashi once again with a mindset to fight.

With a full on battle cry, Naruto ran wildly and fast and the lazy jounin, who looked like he couldn't care less that an orange mass was rushing at him.

"Shinobi battle techniques," Kakashi muttered as he leaned his head back, halting Naruto's steps, "part one: taijutsu, the physical part."

With that he reached into what I assumed was his kunai pouch, making Naruto tense—however, what he pulled out, was the not the object that was expected.

_'A…book?'_

Giving the orange book a closer look, I blushed slightly at the realization of what _type_ of book he pulled out.

"Kakashi, you pervert." I muttered under my breath, feeling a little repulsed by the sight of the object in his hands.

"What the—!" Naruto exclaimed, completely confused.

A brief pause, and then the awkward silence grew to be too much.

"Well," Kakashi asked as Naruto stood there, frozen, "what are you waiting for? Make your move."

Naruto, on the other hand, was still utterly gobsmacked, looking like he either wanted to scream in confusion or splutter in disbelief.

"W-what? Why are you reading that _book_?" Naruto finally decided to exclaim, looking rather put off.

"_Why_?" Kakashi asked, now seeming as if _he_ was confused, "to find out what happens next, of course. Don't let it bother you, with your weak attacks it doesn't really matter if I'm reading or whatever."

_'I forgot that Kakashi was also sassy,'_ I sweatdropped, watching as Naruto turned red with anger, _'and that he also knows how to push someone's buttons.'_

"I'm going to crush you!" Naruto cried, confirming my thoughts.

I watched in a daze as Naruto made various attacks that were easily evaded, Kakashi's speed far outweighing his own.

The copy-nin actually was behind the whiskered boy, tone still uncaring and lazy like before—as if he exerted no effort in his dodges once so ever.

"Never let your enemy get behind you all the time." He lectured, hand formed into some form of handsign.

But I knew better—that was no handsign.

That was a promise of embarrassment.

Sakura though, didn't quite know that yet.

"Naruto!" She called, giving away her hiding position, "get out of there quick! He's going to destroy you!"

Naruto turned towards the voice with wide eyes that were filled with questioning, but it was already over.

"Too late," Kakashi stated, eyes flashing, "leaf village secret finger jutsu: a thousand years of death!"

And with that, Naruto went flying, hands clutching his poor bottom, and expression priceless as he went zooming over the treeline and into the water.

"Those two are just…total idiots," I heard Sasuke mutter from the branches above me, and I couldn't agree more.

"Ok, where was I," Kakashi muttered, opening his book once more.

Sighing deeply at the copy-nin's antics, I watched as two quick ninja-stars were thrown directly at said copy-nin—merely being caught in between his fingers without some much as a glance up.

My attention of pure shock and slight amazement were soon directed towards the coughing boy climbing out of the water.

"What are you doing now?" Kakashi asked, arms crossed as he stared down at the boy's figure, "you know you won't get lunch if you don't get a bell by noon."

"I know! I know, you told me this already!" Naruto shouted, looking ready to attack once more.

"You look pretty wobbly for someone who's going to surpass the hokage," Kakashi drawled, hitting Naruto where it hurts once more.

Instead, the whiskered boy decided to rant about how Kakashi told them not to eat breakfast, and how he couldn't fight due to being hungry.

From above me, I heard the familiar sound of another stomach growling—and I tried desperately to hide my giggles from the blushing Uchiha.

Naruto started muttering his plan out loud, albeit to himself, before launching to his feet quickly. About a dozen or so Naruto's sprung up with him, launching themselves up and out of the water in a flurry.

Gazing with awe at the sight of one of his most common jutsu, I knew Sakura and Sasuke were doing the exact same.

Kakashi peered back with slight interest as the Naruto doppelgangers cheered and accused the man of being overconfident—saying how he was going to defeat him now and such.

Blowing the strand of hair out of my face, I waited for the exact moment when Naruto's plan was turned against him, and the clone's started destroying themselves.

It wasn't a long wait—it was a mere five minutes before Kakashi used his attack against him and Naruto was left beaten and bruised by his own doing.

However, Naruto did the next idiotic thing imaginable—he saw a stray bell and went for it without thinking.

In a matter of seconds, the poor boy was caught around the ankle and hoisted off his feet—upside down in a type of trap.

_'Kakashi: 1 Naruto: 0'_

"Think before you use a jutsu," Kakashi scolded, plucking the stray bell off the ground, "Or else your opponent might use it against you."

"Also, if the bait is obvious, don't take it," He added in as Naruto groaned and turned red with anger, "a ninja must see through deception; I'm telling you this because you _don't_ get it. You _think_ you get it, but it's not the same as _actually_ getting it, get it?"

From above me in the tree, a heard a swift noise and a gray-ish blur flash quickly through the air—destination being Kakashi himself.

Slightly panicked as I realized that those blurs were _shuriken_ that actually made _contact_ with the copy-nin, I turned a horrified look towards the disbelieving boy above me.

"Sasuke," I whispered, eyes wide, "what the heck—!"

Naruto's shouts of 'going too far' were heard from across the clearing, but also stopped short when the figure that apparently got 'blasted by shuriken' turned into a log.

_'I should've known.'_ I murmured to myself, not able to hold back the sigh of relief.

Sasuke, realizing that his cover was blown, gave me a look before motioning his head towards a different spot.

"We need to find Sakura before Kakashi does," I spoke, breaking into a swift run deeper into the forest, trying to remember what direction Kakashi was headed in, "he plans to use a genjutsu on her, and that will delay everything."

Nodding, Sasuke kept his pace just as swift, ultimately running ahead of me due to his longer limbs. Trying to keep up, I skidded to a halt when I saw a glimpse of pink.

"There!" I whispered harshly, not wanting to raise my voice any louder to preserve my cover from Kakashi.

Leaves started to blow rapidly in the air, zipping around with a vigor I didn't know to be possible. I could feel the familiar twinge of energy laced in the air as well, coating each leaf as it zoomed by. As they started to slow their pace and the look on Sakura's face become terrified, Sasuke swooped in, hands already in the shape of a handsign. A loud yell of 'Kai!' filled my ears, and the energy was diminished.

Sakura's initial fear was replaced with confusion and disbelief, staring at Sasuke with wide eyes.

"You're alright!," she yelled, relief flooding her senses as she hovered around the awkwardly standing avenger. I noticed how her emerald eyes shown with pure consolation that he was safe, and I a bit taken back at how much she cared for Sasuke.

Hating to break the moment—because god knows Sasuke needs all the affection he can get—the thought of a watchful Kakashi gave me the resolve to push past my hesitance.

"We need to go," I whispered discreetly, motioning towards the treetops as a sign that copy-nin was still watching.

I saw the agreement in Sasuke's expression before I even got an answer, watching as he grabbed Sakura's arm before heading off into the direction before him.

Sprinting towards the foliage, with a squawking Sakura being dragged by a disgruntled Sasuke, we made a break towards the clearing.

"What's going on," Sakura demanded slightly out of breath from surprise, staring wildly at Sasuke's face as she tried to keep pace, "why are we running?"

"Kakashi could attack at any moment," Sasuke stated blandly as he released Sakura's arm and and stopped near a large tree, "and we need to find Naruto so we can make a plan."

I can truly say I've never seen the genius kunoichi appear so clueless, the gears in her mind screeching to a halt as the information was said aloud. I could understand of course; Sasuke was one to typically keep to himself and never _ever _would include the likes of Naruto in any of his sentences without a casual insult thrown in right after.

It was a sight that was so ironic, I couldn't help but laugh a bit under my breath. I felt both pairs of eyes glance at me, one seeing and one unseeing, and sobered my quiet laughter at once.

"We need to form a plan?" Sakura mumbled out loud, a bit dazed, "We need to find _Naruto_? What the heck is going on?"

Any reply she was going to get was silenced by that of a frightful, boyish scream, and the distinct noise of branches shaking.

Inclining my head towards the direction of the noise, I sighed a bit at what exactly had caused it.

"Found Naruto," Sasuke muttered for the second time that day, rolling his dark eyes as I made my way towards said whiskered boy. When I approached him, I already had known what sight I would be greeted with.

I hadn't known in real life, however, the image of a caught and struggling Naruto dangling from a tree would be that hilarious.

Grabbing a kunai from the bag located on my left hip—courtesy of the shopping spree I managed to venture on—I threw it quickly at the rope that ensnared the whiskered boy's foot, cringing a bit as it cut and dropped him on his head.

"Sorry 'bout that," I whispered under my breath, forgetting that he couldn't see it was me who cut him loose anyway.

Naruto didn't seem that affected by the ordeal; he bounced back up with determined eyebrows and narrowed cerulean eyes that stared suspiciously at Sasuke and Sakura.

His focus was more on his rival rather than his crush, and I pursed my lips in amusement as Naruto opened his mouth to speak.

"What're you doing here teme?! Where's Kakashi?" he shouted, trying to cover up his initial embarrassment of being the damsel in distress.

'_He must think Sasuke rescued him,'_ I thought with a mirthful smile, shaking my head a bit at the hilarity of the dynamic that was to be team seven.

"Kakashi is somewhere in the training field," Sasuke spoke up, arms crossed and expression a bit exasperated, "we need to group together so we can come up with a plan to get the bells."

Naruto's mouth visibly dropped, eyes getting a bit wide as he recounted what he was just told.

"You want to make a plan?" Naruto asked, a bit bewildered, "Why should I work with you, teme?! How do I know you won't take the bells for yourself?!"

"Naruto, shut up!" Sakura scolded, expression angry and eyes resembling that of a blazing fire, "stop accusing Sasuke-kun!"

I glanced over at said 'Sasuke-kun' from where I was standing beside the orange-clad nin, still ultimately amused by the situation and the fact that Sasuke looked as if he wanted to tear his hair out.

"Look," Sasuke bit out, tone irritated, "the point of this test is for all of us to work as a team and get the bells—Kakashi is pitting us against each other on purpose so we do exactly the opposite. Are you willing to pass and become a ninja or not?"

A bit shocked at how easily quickly he was willing to work with them—who was this and what did they do to Sasuke Uchiha—I chose to bask in the moment and let things happen how they were going to happen for once.

'_I've practically changed the entire point of view of the bell test,'_ I realized, nervousness creeping in, '_let's hope this turns out ok—for my sake and Konoha's.'_

Sakura bit her lip at his words, albeit nodding, while Naruto's resembled that of genuine willpower, "Of course I'm going to pass! I'm going to be Hokage, dattebayo!"

Sasuke nodded, folding his hands together as they crowded around, "Alright, so here's the plan—"

…

The timer had about twenty minutes before it went off; nearly enough time for the plan to be executed perfectly.

I was sitting under a tree, watching the clearing with the plan Sasuke came up with replaying in my mind.

To say I was proud would be an understatement—I was internally jumping for joy, relief flooding through my limbs even at the smallest sign of Sasuke opening up to his team.

'_We're off to a good start,'_ I thought, softly smiling as i pulled loose strands of hair behind my ears, '_and it's only getting to get better from here. Hopefully.'_

Focusing back on reality—because I was, of course, supposed to be on on lookout—I peered quietly at the surrounding trees.

It was my job to alert Sasuke of when Kakashi made his presence known, so who better to be on lookout then the one girl who didn't have a distinguishable presence?

Of course, Naruto and Sakura didn't know of my role in their plan; it was an unspoken rule between Sasuke and I that my existence wasn't to be known of until the time called for it. Instead, they both were on opposite sides of the clearing, poised and ready to strike.

A shift in the wind alerted me, and I looked up quickly to see a casual yet confused Kakashi standing on a tree limb. I could tell he was a bit curious as to why no one had attacked him for the bells in some time, which played into the plan Sasuke, Naruto, and Sakura formed quite nicely.

Smirking—because god it was fun to be invisible—I grabbed another kunai from the bag and threw it as far as I could into the clearing, giving Sasuke the signal.

As soon I did that, Kakashi caught sight of the knife and pounced towards the clearing right as Sasuke appeared, multiple shuriken flying in the air and punches thrown to initiate battle.

Seeing as how my work was done, I sat down with a plop, and enjoyed the show.

"Finally decided to show your face?" Kakashi asked, still unaware that Sasuke wasn't the only one around him, "I would've thought you were going to fight me for the bells sooner—unless of course you were too afraid to challenge me."

_That_ pushed Sasuke's buttons.

I could feel the angry aura radiating around the Uchiha from my spot on the ground, and let me tell you, it did not feel too pleasant.

Immediately springing into action, kunai were thrown at an alarming rate towards the jounin's head, a blue blur racing towards confrontation at an impossible pace.

Kakashi also sprung into the battle, a little less laid back than before as shuriken were also thrown into the mix of weapons.

My eyes caught sight of handsigns being formed, and felt the energy flowing into the jutsu Sasuke was about to perform.

"Fireball jutsu: great fireball technique!"

A blast of pure inferno went rushing at Kakashi, precise and spitting with heat. Kakashi made a quick dodge to the left, avoiding the fire but ultimately falling into the trap.

The plan was going to work.

A smirked settled it's way onto Sasuke's face as he glanced towards a hiding Sakura and Naruto, realizing exactly what I just had. "Now!" he yelled, giving his teammates the go to initiate their side of the plan.

The copy-nin's sole eye widened a bit in shock as orange clones came rushing at him in hordes, surrounding him on all sides.

"You're going down, sensei!" The multiple Naruto's shouted in unison, eyes bright with adrenaline and giddiness.

Backflipping away, Kakashi landed on his feet a few meters to the right, only to met with an onslaught of more kunai and a pink haired girl.

Sakura threw a few more knives from her position in the above tree, throwing Kakashi for a loop as he now had to avoid Sakura and a slight revenge crazy Naruto.

Dodging once more, Kakashi was too distracted by the offense coming his way that he didn't even have time to blink before Sasuke swooped in to grab the bells from the jounin's waist.

The twinkling of a bell could be heard just before the timer sounded loud and clear.

With a large smirk set upon the pale features of Sasuke's face, he held up the two tiny silver bells in his left hand, dark eyes proud as he stared into shocked grey ones.

"We got them!" Naruto screeched, jumping up and down as his clones copied him, "we got Kakashi sensei's dumb bells! I'm going to be ninja, believe it!"

Finally coming to terms with the situation, Kakashi blinked, eyes a bit wide as he stared at the three of them.

'_It worked,'_ I happily thought as I stood, '_it worked and it proved they could work as a team.'_

Just as I stood, a sole gray eye seem to dart to my position, narrowing ever slightly before glancing back at the three excited genin.

Not able to breathe—since that was not normal at all—I stood rigid in my spot, not daring to move any closer.

_'Can he see me? Or is he just reacting with jounin instincts to all sudden movement?'_

With a million questions racing in my head, Kakashi started to speak.

"Ah, it does seem that you grabbed the bells—now the question is, who gets on and who doesn't?"

Sakura made a face, scrunching her nose a bit, "But that's illogical," she stated, glancing from the bells in Sasuke's hand to Naruto's furrowed eyebrows, "there is no such thing as a two genin squad; I mean, that's why three genin are put on a squad, to form a team, right?"

I could hear Kakashi's chuckles from my spot by the tree, laughter that had no ulterior motive, but was simple and airy and slightly disbelieving.

"So you did figure it out," Kakashi mused, seemingly excited at the prospect of them all knowing the point of the test, "You all worked together, something no other team I've tested in the past had even come close to doing. They've all followed my rules exactly, no matter if they were pitted against each other; a ninja must see through deception—in the ninja world those who break the rules are scum, that's true, but those who abandon their friends are worse than scum. This team has potential, so I think it's ok to say that you all pass."

I heard sniffles and looked over with shock as Naruto started tearing up, blue eyes welling with unshed happy tears.

Sasuke just smirked with satisfaction, and Sakura just glowed with success.

"The exercise is over—everyone passes! Squad seven starts its first mission tomorrow," Kakashi stated, ended with a dorky thumbs up pose that ultimately ruined the moment, "now let's go get some lunch."

Rolling my eyes at Naruto's enthusiastic cheer in response, I was a little put off by something.

'_Was Kakashi knowing where I was a coincidence? Or some freaky ninja reflex?'_ I thought, feeling a numbness spread through my chest.

I hoped I wouldn't find out the answer to that question anytime soon.

…

**So i can't believe I'm updating again just a day after updating the first time; let's hope this streak of ure motivation continues.**

**After some consideration and helpful reviews, I decided to change the outlook of my story more early in the plotline compared to before. Before I figured to keep Sasuke and the events that involved him to happen gradually, but after some suggestions I realized i couldn't do that and have things make sense. So, i'm going to write it differently from here on out-let's hope it doesn't turn out too badly and I completely screw up the character dynamics?**

**Finals are soon, and then Christmas break hits and I'm honestly hype. Let's hope i get my report card aren't too crappy :):**

**Any questions/comments/concerns? Let me know! I need all the feedback I can get at this point!**


	11. Chapter 10: Poisoned Claws

**Summary: AU. When one dies, they don't expect to be brought back to life to help a lonely kid after a massacre. I've learned to start expecting the unexpected. **

**(OC-centric)**

_***All rights for the characters go to Masashi Kishimoto; except for mine of course***_

**(Updated 12/19/16)**

**Chapter 11**

_First Person POV_

"This is it," I mumbled to myself, staring blankly at the white ceiling, "today's the day."

Green eyes connected with a mirrored image of the same face, looking briefly over freckled cheeks and a wild mane of paled, brown hair.

Taking in a deep breath, I pulled a huge smile, faking cheeriness to outweigh that of nervousness.

_'Because today's the day that _everything—_every beginning event, every new possibility— in this world begins.'_

Exiting the room and eventually the front door, I made way to the bustling streets of Konoha with a mission of my own on my mind.

_'The future of Konoha depends on the outcome of team seven's mission—and I'd be damned if history repeated itself.'_

Dodging past hurrying vendors with their wagons and frantic mothers pulling their kids along, I disappeared into the crowd—well, not exactly, but you get the point—and journeyed to the hokage tower.

_'Because if I don't have answers, then he surely will.'_

…

"Ms. Flynn," I heard as soon as I walked through the door undetected, involuntarily shuddering at how similar the hokage's voice was to Death's, "it's a pleasure to see you again—despite how unexpected it is."

Nodding once, I glanced around the office cautiously, looking for any sign of ANBU, "It's nice to see you too, but I think it's time we get down to business before any eavesdroppers catch wind of this discussion."

I watched silently, biting my lip in the process, as he raised an eyebrow, seemingly confused by my rather serious and on edge behavior.

"Is everything alright?" He asked, leaning forward, slight concern filling his dark eyes, "I assure you no one is listening to this conversation but me; although Iruka may be here shortly with academy reports on all his new students."

Hesitantly glancing around once more, I rubbed the side of my arm, not sure how to approach the subject.

Picking up on his apprehension to my silence, I pursed my lips to speak, "Today's the day I mentioned in the past—the day where everything begins. The mission to the Land of Waves is vital to team seven, but there are two ways this mission can end; one will be the way I have seen, and the other will be altered by any interference that I have. If it happens the way I remember it from last time, there will be little time to change things before the chuunin exams—and god knows I'll need all the time I can get."

Upon finishing, his concern died down a bit, but confusion was still present as he looked at me from behind folded hands.

"What's your point, exactly?" he asked, not getting where I was going with my vague ramblings.

Slumping my shoulders—because I was in no way an authoritive figure who could present my case will elegance and grace—I made helpless gestures that went unnoticed due to my invisibility.

"Well, I need to make sure that you give this mission to Kakashi—and that you are aware that this mission is in no way a c-rank. The bridge builder's land is under the siege of a tyrant by the name of Gatou, who wants to keep the Land of Waves poor and to the point of being desolate so he can still rake in money for himself. Tazuna wants to build a bridge so trade can improve not only the economy, but the lives of each individual in that land. Gatou has the power to bring in people that are a bit dangerous—well, a _lot_ dangerous—to stop the bridge from being created. My _point_ is that team seven will have to go against the missing-nin Momochi Zabuza and his teammate Haku in order to see that this bridge gets finished." I stated, pushing past the huge lump in my throat.

The third hokage's face paled, hand twitching with slight anxiousness, "You know of the dangers of this mission, yet request that they still embark on it?"

It was a general question, but the accusing tone behind it didn't settle well with me.

Bristling a bit, I had to bite my tongue before I said something rash. '_You were the one who sent them before and they survived.' _I snarked internally, trying to shake it off, not liking the feeling of being doubted.

"Of course—like I said, this mission is vital to their teamwork growing—but it isn't the only reason."

Once again, his eyebrow was raised, eyes calculating and gleaming from under his official hat, "It's not the only reason?"

Shaking my head—a gesture he couldn't see—I pursed my lips once more, "Nope—another reason team seven requires this mission is that we need to form an alliance with Zabuza and Haku."

I couldn't help but smile a bit at his flabbergasted expression.

"You want to what?" he spluttered, eyes wide and tone in utter disbelief.

He looked as if every fiber of his being was completely against the idea—and that every fiber was ready to demand a reason for such a ridiculous statement.

Thankfully, I did have a reason.

"This alliance will benefit us longer down the line—I know you don't want me to disclose much information about the future, but the outcome of this mission results in both their deaths—and it's completely avoidable." I mentioned, twiddling my thumbs listlessly.

"They're missing nins." The hokage deadpanned, looking at me like I was crazy.

Biting my lip, I shrugged, "Technically, only Zabuza is a missing nin."

Not amused, he argued once more, "That doesn't change the fact that they're both highly dangerous."

"Which just means they'd make an incredibly powerful ally," I debated, carrying on with my speech as I was met with another pointed look, "Look, I know you're concerned about the team's safety, but they made it out alive the first time—think of it this way, this time you know what happens—_I_ know what happens—I need you to trust me on this, hokage-sama. I know I'm not the most likely candidate to have the village's future resting in the palm of my hands, but I know to some degree what to do—and for what I don't know Death supplies an answer—_usually_."

There was an incredibly awkward silence that ensued after my prolonged speech, in which he seemed to have a thousand thoughts run through his head, before he seemingly slumped and smiled softly.

Nerves frayed, I approached his reaction carefully.

"You're so young to be dealing with this, child—the decisions you are faced with shouldn't be your decisions alone," he uttered, a sad glint showing on his face as he gazed in my general direction, before the soft smile grew larger "but I do want you to know that however young you are, and how inexperienced you may be, I can say that I trust you—I also trust that you will not betray this trust. I am not fully aware of how your current situation works, or how much pressure has been placed upon you for such position—so I will say this; if you wholeheartedly believe that becoming allies with these dangerous ninja will somehow benefit of my home's future, then I have no choice but to let you continue with this belief."

Shell-shocked, I was beginning to find it harder to breathe, "You—you trust me?" I asked, tone disbelieving.

His warm, grandfatherly smile basically melted any previous doubt, causing a huge weight to be lifted off my chest, "Of course—I've seen with my own eyes how you affect things for the better, the bell test from a while ago being a perfect example. If you believe you can do this, I believe you as well."

"Thank you hokage-sama! I won't let you down!" I smiled widely, eyes crinkled closed and shoulders less tense.

He chuckled, amusement lacing its way into his weary features, "I have but one request—promise me to keep an eye on Naruto; Kami knows that boy can cause some serious trouble."

Laughing quietly, I agreed, before the serious conversation began once more, "They'll be back soon with Tora, and I imagine Iruka will be here any second, so I'll say this now before it gets delayed—I want you to keep this 'ally' situation a secret from Kakashi."

He stroked a hand through his beard, eyes knowing and slightly amused, "A secret? How exactly will the benefit the situation?"

"He can't know what's going to happen, that's my job," I stated, smiling toothily, "he needs to remain blissfully unaware like he had before—otherwise the basic dynamics about what's coming will get thrown off and I'll have no idea what to do next."

He nodded in affirmation, amusement still present, "And what will you do once he finds out who you are and what you're there to do?"

Taking a deep breath, I looked from the large, worn bookcase and to the bright, shining window—completely in thought.

_'There's not exactly a bunch of options to choose from.'_

"I guess I'll just deal with it when it happens—because it _is_ bound to happen eventually," I finally decided, shrugging.

I was met with a long stare, before I saw a glimpse of an idea in his warm brown eyes. I backed away a bit as he lowered himself towards the cabinets of his broad desk, eyebrow quirked in questioning.

Seeing him rise to his feet, my green eyes were drawn instantly to the gleaming object in his outstretched hands.

"H-hokage-sama?" I asked, completely overwhelmed in disbelief.

Smiling, he handed me the object in his hands—a Konoha hitai-ate.

"Wear this," he spoke, nodding as I hesitantly grabbed the blue of the fabric, "this will make it easier for you if your identity is to be completely revealed."

Tying the forehead protector shakily—because this was some foreign dream, not reality—I made sure the fabric was snugly around my head, distantly noticing how easily it kept my hair out of my face.

I was practically beaming, unable to stop as I realized the gravity of the situation.

'_Wearing this forehead protector is a symbol of how much faith is being placed on me,'_ I thought, unable to dull down the gratitude, '_I will not let him down.'_

I took notice of how he parted his lips to speak once more, probably ready to hit me with another one of his deep and sage one-liners, but remained silent—instead choosing to stare past me and nod in the direction of the doorway.

Instantly alert, I realized it was a small signal to let me know we weren't alone anymore.

"Good afternoon, hokage-sama," a familiar chipper voice announced politely, causing me to swiftly turn around and bolt in the opposite direction.

"Iruka," the hokage greeted, dipping his head once to show welcome, "it's good to see you."

And so the conversation of academy children and lesson plans ensued—droning on into more polite conversation about ninja training as the minutes ticked by.

Not exactly familiar with some of the terms used—my 'shinobi vocab' was lacking a great deal—I took the time to block out their talking and focus on planning for what was about to come.

Taking a comfy spot next to the hokage's desk, right under the window and out of potential sight—well, in this case, out of the way of potentially getting stepped on or discovered—I bit my lip in concentration, fidgeting restlessly.

_'_What _was I going to _do_?'_

Taking in a large, shuddering breath, I held my face in my hands.

_'All I gotta do is go on this mission, make sure everyone stays safe, make sure I don't wind up discovered, and become friends with Zabuza and Haku while defeating a wealthy tyrant,_' I droned, staring blankly at my shinobi sandal clad feet, _'this ought to be great.'_

I felt a light nudge and looked up quickly, completely frazzled.

"They'll be here any minute," the hokage whispered as Iruka was distracted with papers, "you'll know what to do, Susana."

Holding onto his words, I nodded, muttered my agreement out loud for him to hear.

_'Let's just pray that I really do.'_

"Has my baby Tora been found yet?!" a frantic voice cried, completely sudden and unexpected.

Whirling around with shock and slight apprehension, my eyes widen as they locked onto the face of an older woman—who, might I add, was wearing too much makeup to be sane.

Watching as a formally dressed women came barreling through the front doors of the hokage office, I later recognized her as the daimyo's wife.

"Well," she shrieked in question, "has he?!'"

"Don't worry," The hokage spoke, trying to diffuse the crazed women's worry with a smile, "the team I enlisted for the job should be back within seconds."

_'Smooth,'_ I thought, watching as the lady seemed to calm a bit.

Smirking as I saw both him and Iruka sigh in relief, I wondered how many times this lady had been in here before.

_'Considering this cat has been escaping since Kakashi was my age, I bet it's been a long time.'_

_"Get this cat off of me," _a loud call—no doubt belonging to Naruto—cried, voice echoing down the hall, _"it's trying to claw my eyes out!"_

Anticipation crawled through my skin, adrenaline starting to run through my veins.

_'They're here,'_ I affirmed, shaky as their footsteps grew louder from down the hall_, 'it's time.'_

Gazing at the door just as Naruto came barging in, seemingly fighting with a cat with a red ribbon, I felt some tension ease away at the comical sight.

_'It'll be ok,'_ I sighed, trying to calm my nerves as Naruto all but threw the poor cat at the tearful lady, _'they made out once, they will make it out again.'_

"Tora! Baby! Mommy was so worried about you!"

_'But the real question is will I?'_

Tuning out the cat's yowls and cries for freedom, my attention turned to the newly formed team that walked into the office, all with different forms of emotion on their faces.

Naruto looked the happiest of the group, along with the most battered and bruised—tiny scratches seemed to fill his face, but his bright smile brought the attention away from that fact.

Sakura and Sasuke just looked like they've been cheated out of a good mission, and Kakashi looked laidback like usual.

"Now then," the hokage interrupted, giving me a quick wink as he brought the squad's attention to himself, "for team seven's next mission we have several available tasks—hm?

Among them babysitting the chief councilors three year old—helping his wife to do the shopping—digging up potatoes—!"

The hokage got cut off with a loud protest.

"No," Naruto cried, looking horrified by the idea of another boring mission, "I wanna go on a real mission!"

Tiredly, the hokage sighed, tuning out the rest of the rant coming from Naruto—eyes weary and posture screaming that he was getting too old to bicker with the younger boy.

I shrugged, used to the odd behavior, "did you really expect anything different?" I asked quietly, watching as he shook his head tiredly.

"How dare you!" Iruka suddenly shouted, causing me to jolt for the second time that day, "you're just a brand new genin with no experience! Like everyone else you start with simple missions to develop your skills and prove yourself!"

Sighing, I hopped up from my seated position on the floor, noticing with satisfaction Sasuke's startled look at my sudden appearance.

_'Did he really not notice me?'_ I questioned, grinning, _'some ninja he is.'_

As if he knew what I was thinking, he scowled, choosing not to focus on him getting caught off guard, but rather to the object around my forehead.

As he raised his eyebrow, I felt the giddiness return, shrugging a bit to signify to him that I'd tell him later.

A nod was sent in my direction, before dark eyes focused back onto the topic at hand.

_'He just wants a mission like Naruto described,'_ I observed, crossing my arms, watching the other teammate next to him, _'as does Sakura.'_

I tuned back in as Naruto got hit over the head by a weary Kakashi, basically mumbling out the words 'be quiet' under his breath.

The other two teammates just sighed with exhausted patience, already used to the weird outbursts and shouting.

"Naruto," the hokage spoke up, tone authoritative and stern, "I assume you know the rankings of the missions?"

The orange clad boy seemed a bit frazzled by the tone and question, rubbing the back of his head out of habit as he answered, "Aren't the really important missions given to the really strong shinobi? And less important given to everyone else?"

The hokage looked as if he were going to facepalm.

"It's true that the most important missions are given to the highly skilled shinobi—ANBU and jounins, for example—but the missions you have been receiving are because you aren't highly skilled yet—you are a brand new genin, the lowest rank on the shinobi pyramid." He explained, breathing slowly and talking as if he was explaining this to a two year old, "missions come into the village every day, ranging from babysitting to assassination—they are then ranked from A to D—D being the lowest level. Genin are given D-ranked missions to help hone their skills so they make their way to become a highly skilled shinobi."

It was a great explanation—one that made a lot more sense and described why certain ranks got the missions they did.

But the thing was, nobody was really listening.

In the middle of the hokage's speech, I appeared by team seven, listening with interest about Naruto's lunch plans rather than the wise musings of the third hokage.

"So yesterday I had this tankatsu ramen, but I'm thinking about having miso ramen today," Naruto explained excitedly, his mouth watering as he talked about lunch, "but maybe I should go for—!"

"Silence!" the hokage shouted in irritation, causing all of us to turn in shock, sheepish expression donning our faces.

Kakashi rubbed the back of his head, a guilty smile under his mask, "Oh, sorry."

Turning to Sasuke, I saw him roll his eyes, and I nodded in agreement.

In the meantime, Naruto was still sitting on the floor, looking like he wanted to explode.

_'Oh, here we go.'_ I thought, mentally rolling my eyes as well.

"Gah! You always lecture me like your my grandfather or something! But I'm not the little brat who used to pull pranks all the time—I'm a ninja now and I want a ninja mission!" he huffed, turning his back on the weary man and the red-faced academy instructor.

"I'm going to hear about this later," Kakashi sighed quietly, tone tired and posture slumped.

I couldn't really blame him.

Distantly, I heard the hokage and Iruka chuckled in amusement, both for two different reasons.

"You want a ninja mission Naruto? Fine, since you're a ninja now, you can have one," the hokage smiled, puffing his pipe, "you'll be going on a C-ranked mission—your destination is the land of waves, where you'll be bodyguards on this journey."

Nervously twitching my fingers—_because oh god this was about to become official_—I gave a apprehensive yet excited smile to a disbelieving Sasuke and to the rest of the in shock team seven.

"Really?!" Naruto cheered, whiskered cheeks smiling and eyes wide in happiness as he sprung to his feet, "Yes! Are we guarding a princess? Or some big-league councilor?"

Smirking, I shook my head, much to the confusion of the Uchiha boy next to me.

Feeling a nudge on my shoulder, I turned briefly to look at him, his expression practically demanding to know if I knew anything.

"Let's just say, this guy isn't high on the status quo." I mumbled under my breath.

Glancing up, I saw the hokage see the small exchange, smiling before the glint in his eye turned amused, "Don't be so impatient—I will bring him in now. Send in our visitor!"

The majority of team seven glanced in apprehension towards the door—some doubtful and others excited as they waited for Tazuna to arrive.

_'Boy, are they gonna be disappointed.'_

The door slid open slowly, egging on everyone's anticipation—a broad hand clasped the edge, before a man of average height walked in, a bottle of alcohol and a scowl on his face.

"What the—?" he asked, scowl deepening upon sight of team seven, "a bunch of snot-nosed brats? And you—the little one, with the idiotic look on your face—you really expect me to believe you're a ninja?"

_'What a great first impression.'_

Cackling, Naruto glanced around, eyes comically large as he pointed towards Sakura and Sasuke, "who the little one with the idiotic look on his face?"

Nonplussed by Naruto's childish laughing, Sasuke and Sakura glanced at each other before stepping next to him.

Naruto immediately got the message that he was the shortest of the group.

Leaning a bit forward, I compared my own height, grumbling as I realized I was a bit taller than Sakura yet surprisingly shorter than Sasuke.

_'When did he get taller than me?'_

He noticed to, and decided to send a very arrogant smirk my way.

_'Jerk,'_ I thought, tuning out Naruto's cries of demolishing Tazuna as he was held back by a sweatdropping Kakashi.

"You can't hurt the client, Naruto," he reasoned, tone worn out as the whiskered boy started swinging his fists around, "it doesn't work that way."

Obviously drunk, the bridge builder took another sip of alcohol, introducing himself with a slight slur in his speech.

I tuned out his explanation of who he was, knowing most of the details already, and instead I tried to figure out how he could still drink so much at a time and remain conscious.

…

Eyes tired and shoulders stiff as we stood at the front gates, I shook off the weird looks I was being sent by Sasuke.

On some level, he knew that I was aware of what would happen on this mission—but the way my outward appearance screamed 'don't ask' put a hold on any questions he might have.

Of course I knew that this mission was child's play compared to everything else in the future—but this is also the mission that shaped the dynamics of most of the future; and honestly, if I screwed up here, everything else was screwed.

But I chose not to dwell too much on that fact.

I had by some miracle changed the outcome of the bell test—something I was still in disbelief over—but that was so insignificant in relation to the real battle that would happen in only a few short hours.

And to be honest, I wasn't sure I was going to be any help—and the feeling in my gut wasn't exactly the best indicator that things were going to sail smoothly.

Birds chirping as I threw another tired look towards the sight of the village behind us, I started trekking through the front of the large green gates, shoulders slumped as I tried to calm my nerves.

_'Just calm down,'_ I told myself, arguing with my own fear, _'if you keep stressing, it'll only make things worse—so get a grip!'_

"Sana," I heard a discreet whisper as Naruto started raving like a lunatic about 'leaving the village for the first time', "is something bad going to happen on this mission?"

_'Apparently he ignored the warning and asked anyway.'_

Blinking away the drowsiness, I turned a full circle to see Sasuke, who looked a bit more on edge due to my silence.

Shaking my head, I smiled a bit—or rather, grimaced—to alleviate tension, "Nothing too life threatening—you guys made it out the first time, after all."

In turn, he narrowed his eyes, looking at me as if though trying to figure out what I was hiding, "you're not telling me the full truth."

I shrugged, not exactly in the mood for a game of twenty questions, and turned my attention elsewhere.

Tuning in to a verbal match between Naruto and Tazuna, I couldn't help but roll my eyes.

_'This is going to be a long journey.'_

"I told you to protect the client, not attack them," Kakashi drawled, holding back a kicking and screaming Naruto.

Carefully maneuvering around the pair, I trailed after an already walking Tazuna, crinkling my nose in disdain as the smell of alcohol once again was strongly present.

"You'd think a person would know how to stop," I muttered out loud, mostly to myself, as I crossed my arms, not caring if anyone could hear.

I stopped short suddenly, feet halting on the dirt path. There was an uneasy feeling in the air—a feeling of watching eyes somewhere nearby.

Turning, I was afraid my cover had been blown by Kakashi—or Sakura for the matter—but the two were both busy, eyes trained on something else.

Glancing hurriedly between Naruto and Sasuke, I realized it wasn't them either.

_'If it's not them,'_ I thought, turning back to face the front to stare at a blissfully unaware Tazuna, _'and if it's not the client, then who?'_

Shuddering, I realized that it was the enemy.

_'Already?'_ I asked, cautiously scanning the tree-line, _'I didn't expect the demon brothers to trail us all the way from here.'_

Repeating mantras of 'get a grip' in my head, I kept my hands at my sides, ready and poised to grab kunai from my holster at any signs of attack.

If Sasuke noticed my weird behavior, seeing as how he was the only one who could, he didn't mention anything—too busy staring uncaringly at everyone as light chatter broke throughout the group.

"Say," Sakura asked, standing directly behind me, "Mr. Tazuna, your country is the Land of Waves, right?"

Downing another sip of sake, the man grumbled before making his reply audible, "yeah, what of it?"

Her attention switched to Kakashi as questions swirled in her emerald eyes, "Kakashi-sensei, there are ninja in Wave country too, aren't there?"

"No," he stated, gazing down at his student with a thoughtful look, "there are no ninja in the Land of Waves—but in other countries, there are hidden villages, each with their own different customs and cultures where ninja reside. To the people of this continent, the existence of shinobi villages means strength—military strength. In other words, that's how they protect themselves and maintain the balance of power within neighboring countries. The ninja villages are not controlled by any government; they're independent and have equal status. Now a small island like the Land of Waves has natural protection from the sea, so, there is no need for a ninja village."

As he continued his speech about the great nations and what they entailed, I furrowed my eyebrows in thought, trying to gain as much information as possible.

It was clear I didn't know much about the fine details of this world—I only knew what was going to be carried out.

In other words, I needed all the information I could get.

I came back to the conversation as Sakura squealed, an overly large smile on her face, "Wow, then lord hokage's really important!"

Staring at her weirdly, I then gazed to an equally weird Naruto—confused about what happened.

"Hey," Kakashi shouted, causing the three of us to jump, "you just doubted lord hokage, didn't you?"

It wasn't hard to decipher from their expressions that they did, in fact, doubt him.

The jounin sighed, placed a hand on Sakura's head with a soft eye-smile, "Well, anyway, there aren't any ninja battles in a C-rank mission—so, you can relax."

Sakura sighed in relief, "So we're not going to run into any foreign enemies or anything like that?"

Chuckling, Kakashi's smile got wider, "No, not likely."

_'Oh the irony.'_

I briefly got a glimpse of Tazuna's face, watching as he tried to compose himself, before my gaze was switched to a blank Naruto and a less-than-pleased Sasuke.

I lightly shook my head, crossing my arms as we passed over a make-shift bridge above a tiny, flowing creek.

Glancing upwards, I noticed that feeling of uneasiness return, along with the tension in my shoulders.

Green eyes locked on the puddle that lay before us, and I made it a point to turn to Sasuke, nod in the direction of the puddle, and turn around once again; hoping he understood the message.

We basically only had a few seconds before attack now.

Slowing down my steps, I hummed quietly in anxiousness as I tried to play out what I was going to do in my head—how I was going to react—how I was going to alter the situation.

But as the brothers leapt out of the puddle and had Kakashi wrapped in their chains within milliseconds, I found that whatever coherent thought of any sort of plan was tossed out the metaphorical window.

The plan _now_ was to wing it.

I tried to not look as the two enemies essentially killed 'Kakashi', instead rushing towards the group as Sakura and Naruto cried out for their sensei.

I knew I wouldn't be able to do much without having my whole 'invisible ghost' cover blown, but as the two brothers stationed themselves behind a frozen Naruto, I knew there was _something_ that could be done.

Jamming both hands into the holsters on my hips, I carefully drew out two kunai, watching as my movement kick started Sasuke into action.

As he leapt with shuriken distinctly between his fingers, I threw the kunai straight at the brothers' backs, watching as Sasuke did the same.

The shuriken locked the metal chains into the nearby tree, while the kunai had cut themselves into a shoulder and into the other's thigh.

With shock, their gazes turned into glares, before unveiling surprise as Sasuke landed on their metal clad backs.

Rushing towards the other female of the group, I stood by Sakura and Tazuna, glancing directly towards the fight with calculated caution.

Sasuke ended jumping off their backs as they broke away from their own chains, back flipping to a safe spot as he sent me an arrogant smirk.

Rolling my eyes, I found said eyes widen as one of the brothers came rushing straight towards us.

As if it were slow motion, I found myself gazing to Sakura, to the demon brother, and then towards Tazuna.

The brother's objective was to kill Tazuna—but by the way they just tried to kill Naruto, they have no problem killing genin as well.

Time was starting to become fast once more, and I felt adrenaline pump through my veins as Sakura stood protectively in front of Tazuna—arm raised with a kunai lifted in one hand.

Glancing at a running Sasuke, I noticed how far the distance was between him and us.

_'Well, since I've already had experience dying…'_

I slide in front of Sakura with the same idea in mind—protect. Sakura was just as important as the other members—and without her, this team wouldn't function.

Clenching my teeth as the enemy came closer, I found myself closing my eyes briefly, bracing myself as I prepared to strike.

But I found I never had to.

Like lightning, Sasuke stood in-between the demon brother and I, arms outstretched and eye narrowed into slits.

The enemy was a mere inch away now, eyes crazed and hungry for a fight.

I wanted to push Sasuke away from the attack—or at least yell at him for not having a weapon—but kept my mouth closed, knowing what was going to happen next.

Instead of reaching us, the demon brother was caught in a death grip by Kakashi; who by the way, looked pretty laidback considering what just happened.

He had the other demon brother tucked under his arm as he gave a smile, muttering a casual '_hello'_, as if he wasn't just brutally 'murdered'.

Feeling the adrenaline leave me as soon as I knew the threat was gone, I stepped out of the way of Sakura's cries of joy, turning with a slight smile at Sasuke's relieved expression.

Naruto made his reaction audible, confusion and surprise lacing his expression as he turned towards the spot where Kakashi got ripped apart.

He then pieced the puzzle together as he saw a bunch of logs lying astray across the path, blue eyes wide in discovery.

"Naruto," Kakashi stated, causing the whiskered boy to turn towards him, "sorry I didn't help you right away—I didn't mean for you to get hurt—I just didn't think you'd freeze up like that."

As the jounin turned, I watched as Naruto practically deflated with an apologetic look.

_'Way to hit him where it hurts Kakashi.'_

"Good job Sasuke, very smooth—you too Sakura." He continued in praise, turning his attention towards the client.

"Hey," Sasuke spoke, arms in his pockets as he turned towards Naruto—who looked as if though in inner turmoil.

"Yeah," Naruto hurriedly answered, looking up with big blue eyes.

_'I can see where this conversation is heading,'_ I thought, shaking my head.

"You're not hurt, are ya?" Sasuke asked, smirk in place as his onyx eyes arrogantly staring at Naruto's, "scardy cat?"

_'That was the dumbest thing I have ever heard him say.'_

Right as Naruto was about to pounce, Kakashi order of 'stand still' stopped him cold.

"These ninja have poison in their claws," he continued, tone serious, "we need to take it out of you quickly—you have to open the wound an remove it from your blood, so _don't_ move around—that spreads the poison."

Naruto, now visibly pale, stared at his hand with slight fear, standing perfectly still for once.

"By the way, Mr. Tazuna," Kakashi spoke, tone ominous and straightforward as he glared slightly at the older man, "_I think_ _we need to talk_."

…

**I really can't believe I finished—I've updated three times in a row. This is crazy.**

**Thanks everyone for the lovely reviews and the follows/favorites; they are highly appreciated.**

**Have any questions? Comments? Concerns? Let me know via review or private message!**


	12. Chapter 11: Demons and Nature Chakra

**Summary: AU. When one dies, they don't expect to be brought back to life to help a lonely kid after a massacre. I've learned to start expecting the unexpected. **

**(OC-centric)**

_***All rights for the characters go to Masashi Kishimoto; except for mine of course***_

**(Updating 12/19/16)**

**Chapter 12**

_First Person POV_

"By the way, Mr. Tazuna," Kakashi spoke, tone ominous and straightforward as he glared slightly at the older man, "_I think_ _we need to talk_."

Said man in question backed up a bit, feeling the uneasiness lingering in the air.

He knew on some level that he was found out—he also knew that Kakashi wasn't pleased in the slightest about being lied to.

And if I were him, I'd be shaking in my bones upon sight of Kakashi's death glare.

"Yeah," he mustered through his chapped lips, looking warily at the suddenly authoritive jounin, "what is it?"

Turning slightly, Kakashi took a step forward as he bound the demon brothers to a nearby tree—the brothers themselves looking worn out and defeated.

Arms crossed as he finished his handy work, he begun explaining his point, tone still hinting that this mission was all a lie.

"They are chuunin from the village hidden in the mist—their specialty is relentless attack—they keep fighting no matter what the sacrifice." He stated, listing details about the brothers as if he fought them before.

And honestly, if he had, then I wouldn't be surprised.

The brother to the right turned with a sneer on his marred face, dark eyes glinting as he stared down Kakashi, "how did you know about our ambush?"

Kakashi stared at them with a hint of disbelief, before staring at the puddle on the ground, "A puddle—on a clear day—when it hasn't rained in weeks," he trailed off, sounding as if that was the stupidest cover up he's ever seen.

"In that case," Tazuna grumbled, eyes directed towards Kakashi, "why did you leave the genin to do the fighting?"

Hands stuffed in his pockets, Kakashi made no move to stare up at the old man, instead keeping his eyes locked on the enemy, "I could've taken them out quickly—but then I wouldn't have learned anything. I had to know who the target was _and_ what they were after."

Kakashi's gaze now was slightly pointed towards the old man now, much to the confusion of the rest of the group.

Tazuna, however, knew where this was going, "What are you getting at?" he asked, trying to cover up the fact of him being guilty.

"This—I wanted to know if they were after us—ninja attacking ninja—or, if they were after you, the master bridge builder," he continued, tone knowing as he kept his face composed, "when you put in the request, you asked for standard protection from robbers and highway-men—you didn't say there were _ninja_ looking for you, hunting you down. If we knew this, then it would be a B-rank mission or higher—our task was to simply get you to your destination and protect you while you finished building your bridge. If we knew we'd be fielding attacks from enemy ninja, we would've staffed differently and charged for the cost of a B-rank mission. Apparently you have your reasons, but lying to us is not acceptable. We are now beyond the scope of this mission."

_'Damn,'_ I thought, staring at the jounin with a hint of amazement, _'Kakashi's pretty cool.'_

From my left, Sakura spoke up, emerald eyes hiding a hint of fear as she spoke, "we're just genin—this mission is too advanced for our level of training—we should go back; and I really think we need to treat Naruto's wound and get the poison out as soon as possible!"

If it wasn't for the sole fact that Sakura was trying to convince Kakashi to go back, I'd say she was a very persuasive speaker.

_'She could probably use that skill to her advantage in the future.'_

"Naruto's hand could become a problem," Kakashi listed, looking as if he were in deep thought, "I guess we should back to the village."

Sharing a look with Sasuke, who looked as if he was slightly annoyed with the revelation of having to go back, I shook my head briefly with a look of confusion—sending a mental message of how we weren't going to do just that.

Understanding somehow, I was met with a look that mirrored my own.

"Just watch," I whispered, gesturing toward a grumbling Naruto.

Cringing as the whiskered boy pulled his kunai and slammed it into his hand, I tried to focus on his words rather than the fact that he cut his hand more than he should've—resulting in a huge blood loss if he didn't hurry up with his speech.

"Why am I so different? Why am I always—ugh!"

"Naruto!" Sakura shouted, face alight in shock, "Stop it! What are you doing!"

Ignoring her pleas, he clenched his teeth in frustration, "I worked so hard to get here! Pushing myself until it hurt! Training alone for hours—anything to get stronger—to reach my dream! I will never back down again! And let someone else rescue me—I will never run away or lose to Sasuke; so upon this wound, I make this pledge, believe it! Bridge builder, I'll complete this mission and protect you with this kunai knife! A real ninja never gives up and neither will I! Don't you guys worry about me, I'll be fine! Now let's go!"

Nudging Sasuke with a concerned look, I kept my gaze on Naruto, "Go tell him he cut too deep and could suffer blood loss."

Sighing, Sasuke didn't look surprised as he muttered 'idiot' under his breath.

"Naruto," Kakashi spoke, sounding unsure, "it was cool how you got the poison out and all—but if you lose any more blood, you're going to die."

Cue awkward silence.

Shaking, Naruto's face paled, horror lacing his expression.

"Good idea to stop the bleeding now, seriously" Kakashi stated in a sing-song voice, standing directly next to Naruto now.

Frantically moving around flailing his arms, Naruto chanted a mantra of 'no!' as he went about panicking.

"Show me your hand," Kakashi stated, sounding worn out by the orange clad ninja's behavior.

"Naruto," Sakura scolded, hands on her hips, "you have a self-abusive personality! It's called masochism!"

Rolling my eyes with a slight smile this time, I folded my arms over my chest, gaze watching the path with slight anxiousness.

_'Why am I getting such a bad feeling all of a sudden?'_

…

Sometime later, I found myself drifting carefully on a boat, jam-packed towards the front to avoid getting sat on.

The air was thick with mist, and my shoulders tensed as I tried to prepare myself for what was going to happen next.

The unsettling feeling I got still didn't go away, but I tried to pass it off as just nerves for the upcoming fight between Zabuza.

But it wasn't working.

So instead, I chose to carefully trace my fingers above the surface of the murky water, staring listlessly at the fish that swam by.

The entire lake seemed tainted; the fish didn't look all that healthy either.

Sighing deeply, I pushed a lock of hair behind my ear, glancing back towards the rest of the group.

Naruto was seated directly behind me, sniffing occasionally and carefully watching everything with calculated eyes—but I knew he couldn't see a thing either.

_'He's just trying to seem tough.'_ I thought amused, directing my gaze behind him towards everyone else.

Sasuke was seated awkwardly next to a _very_ close Sakura, while the boat driver, Tazuna, and Kakashi were seated in the very back.

"The bridge isn't far now," the driver stated, rowing quietly through the rolling mist, "our destination is just ahead."

_'Great, we're only a short distance away from fighting a deadly missing-nin,'_ I thought, slumping my shoulders, _'who, by the way, I have to convince to become allies with Konoha.'_

Looking towards the sky, I wondered when my life got so complicated.

_"Be careful, Ms. Flynn,"_ a voice whispered in the wind, causing me to freeze in shock at Death's voice, _"that feeling of unease isn't something to take lightly."_

Completely wrapped up in thought, I'm ashamed to say I jumped in fright at Naruto's loud yell of excitement.

Whipping around just as the driver shushed him just as loudly, I could make out Sasuke's apparent amusement at my actions.

Scowling something fierce, I huffed, propping my chin on my hand.

"Mr. Tazuna," Kakashi whispered, shoulders lax and eye trained on the older man's figure, "before we reach the pier, I want to ask you something."

Tazuna lips were sealed and his head downcast, large hat covering his eyes. He was choosing to remain silent as he waited for the question.

"The men who are after you—I need to know why. If you don't tell us, I'm afraid we'll have to end this mission when we drop you ashore."

Grumbling, he adjusted his glasses, lips pursed, "I have no choice but to tell you—No, I want you to know the truth. Like you said, this is beyond the scope of original mission. The one who seeks my life is a very short man, who casts a long and deadly shadow."

"A deadly shadow," Kakashi inquired, looking slightly interested now, "who is it?"

By now, everyone's attention was aimed towards the bridge builder, curiosity peeked.

"You know him—at least, I'm sure you've heard his name before. He's one of the wealthiest men in the world; the shipping magnet, Gatou."

Kakashi actually looked a bit surprised, "Gatou? Of Gatou transport? He's a business leader—everyone knows him."

Naruto eyes sparkled as he pressed for answers, "Who? Who! What? What!"

"Gatou," Tazuna started, tone sage and slightly apprehensive, "he's a very powerful tycoon from a famous company, that's true—but below the surface it's the same ruthless methods he uses to take over all the businesses and nations. He uses gangs and ninjas to smuggle drugs and contraband goods. It was one year ago when Gatou first set his sight on the Land of Waves—he came to our island and used his vast wealth to take total control of our export and shipping. Anyone who tries to stand in his way simply disappears. In an island nation a man in control of the sea controls everything—finance, government, our everyday lives. But there's one thing he fears—the _bridge_. When it is complete, It will join us to the land and that will break his control."

There was a slight pause to digest the new information, everyone staring at the bridge builder with different mixed emotions.

"So that's it," Sakura stated, rubbing her chin, "since you're in charge of the bridge, you're standing in this gangsters way." She deducted, piecing together every tidbit of info.

Sasuke glanced her way, eyes also discerning, "So that means those guys we fought in the forest, they were working for Gatou."

Naruto, feeling left out as he saw everyone else go into deep though, pretended to think about the situation as well.

Keyword: pretended.

"But I don't understand," Kakashi spoke, looking just as thoughtful, "He's a dangerous man who uses ninjas—why did you hide that fact when you came to us?"

Dark eyes stared far off towards the water; the older man's face carefully composed, "The Land of Waves is a really poor country—even the feudal lord does not have that much money. And we don't have much either. We don't have the money to request for an expensive B-rank or above mission. If you quit your mission after I land, I'll be killed for sure; but there's no need to blame yourselves. Only my cute eight year old grandson will cry and my daughter will have a grudge against Konoha ninja and live a lonely life; but it's not your fault."

_'Is this guy…serious?' _I thought, eye twitching as I stared at his poor display of acting pitiful, _'he's totally guilt tripping everyone! And it's working!'_

"I guess it can't be helped," Kakashi eye-smiled, expression sheepish despite knowing what was happening, "we'll continue escorting you."

Visibly smiling, the bridge builder nodded in happiness, "That's good to hear!"

Squinting my eyes, I caught sight of him smirking evilly, holding up a small peace sign as he whispered how he had won.

From then on, there was only hushed silence—the waves being the only significant noise.

It was like the calm before the storm.

"Tazuna, it looks like we haven't been noticed yet," the boat driver muttered, looking cautiously over the shore.

As the bridge builder nodded in gratitude, we came in contact with a large tunnel—bright, shining light pouring in from the other side.

I was mystified as we exited, watching in apparent interest as the sky was warm and sunny, the water much more clear.

It seemed more…livable than before.

We docked rather quickly, me being the first to launch myself off the boat before I got trampled by unseeing guests.

Sometimes invisibility doesn't have its benefits.

"This is as far as I go," the boat driver muttered, giving Tazuna a deep look, and he prepared to turn around.

"Sure, thanks a lot," said bridge builder thanked, watching with hidden gratitude as the driver tittered off in his boat.

Turning around with excited eyes, Tazuna grinned, resetting the straps on his shoulders, "Alright! Take me home safely!"

Sighing, because I knew he was only excited because he guilted us in to this, I peered over curiously as Kakashi's sole eye sparked with revelation, before showing tired acceptance.

I felt I could relate to the emotion physically and mentally.

I took my place next to Sakura, watching the treeline quietly in thought—of course I worried—heck, even Death said I should be worried—but honestly, by small glimpses I could remember of this battle, all I really had to do to stay safe was to attack from the sidelines.

If I somehow managed to stay out of the fray, there shouldn't be too much of a problem.

Tuning back in as I saw Sasuke speed up to walk ahead of Naruto, I shook my head softly, knowing the rivalry between them was a well hidden display of friendship.

Watching in amusement as Naruto gave Sasuke a look, he ran forward as he surveyed the area—putting everyone else on edge.

He took out a kunai knife with a single motion, glaring towards the side and flinging into the bush with a loud yell.

Sakura jumped a bit, eyes wide and mind racing as she thought an enemy returned.

"Oh, it was just a mouse," he stated, trying to act cool.

_'Naruto, you dork,'_ I sighed mentally, continuing forward to walk.

Sakura, however, was yelling and pointing at him with frustration, "Stop showing off! There was nothing there!"

Even Tazuna looked a bit annoyed.

"Please, Naruto, don't throw kunai so carelessly." Kakashi scolded, looking a bit put off by the blonde's behavior.

This carried on for a bit longer—Naruto kept stating there was an enemy or something hiding in the bush, practically wasting most of his weapons by throwing them into nearby foliage.

I didn't think much of it until he came into contact with a snow-white rabbit.

_'Haku,'_ I thought instantly, immediately frantic as I turned and peered towards the group, hands hovering above the opening of my weapon holster.

I didn't exactly pay attention as Naruto got decked in the back of the head by a freaked out Sakura—or when he started cradling the poor rabbit in his hands, muttering a long stream of apologies.

I did, however, pay attention as Kakashi turned to the side upon sight of the white fur, now as cautious as I was.

Then I felt it—strong killer intent slightly veiled somewhere up in the trees.

There was only seconds before the attack started.

Edging closer towards Sakura and Sasuke, I knew what was going to happen next.

"Everyone, duck!" Kakashi yelled, pushing Tazuna to the ground.

I felt myself push Sakura to the ground instantly, landing in the dirt right as a huge blade swung overhead.

Rolling onto my back and then soon getting up to my feet, I noticed everyone else do the same—eyes wide and challenging as they stared at the figure a ways ahead.

"This is it," I stated, eyes slightly wide as his gaze somehow found mine, "it's finally happening."

Passing me off as some weird gathering of chakra, he turned to face Kakashi, black eyes narrowed as he assessed the group.

Next to me, Naruto was practically shaking in excitement, looking eager to fight.

"Oh my, you are Zabuza Momochi, the exiled ninja from the Hidden village of the Mist," assessing the enemy just as Zabuza had done. Suddenly, seeing a chance, Naruto raced forward, recklessly charging into battle—he was soon stopped by Kakashi's outstretched hand, "You're in the way—stay back, everyone."

A bit peeved, Naruto glared up at the enemy with frustrated blue eyes, "why?"

Taking the time to explain, Kakashi never took his eyes off the enemy, "He's way different from the guys you've met before."

With deep thought, he slowly reached up to his headband, lifting the forehead protector up and away from his eye.

"I'm guessing you are Kakashi the sharingan user," Zabuza spoke, voice deep and slightly raspy.

I turned to a shocked Sasuke, looking a bit surprised and a bit hopeful.

"I'm sorry," the missing-nin continued, "but I'll need you to hand over the geezer."

As most of the group wondered what a sharingan even was, Kakashi's voice took a more serious tone, "Everyone, form the swastika formation—protect Mr. Tazuna; don't join the battle; to not interfere with the battle is teamwork."

Lifting the forehead protector up to reveal a marred eyelid, Kakashi's sharingan glowed a bright red as he unveiled it, face composed as he commanded the fight to start.

"Oh? I'm honored that I got to see the sharingan that I've heard so much about." Zabuza sneered, turning fully to face us as he adjusted his sword.

Naruto, however, looked ready to explode, "You guys have been saying sharingan, but what is it?!"

His blue eyes looked exasperated about being left out, and I sighed slightly at his childish behavior.

_'Even in battle he finds a way to make the situation lighter.'_

Looking troubled, Sasuke pursed his lips to answer, "Sharingan—the eye creates it, and it is the power that the pupil generates; ones who use doujutsu are said to have eye powers that can see through all genjutsu, taijutsu, and ninjutsu and cancel their effects. Sharingan is one of the various types of eyes that those doujutsu users possess; but that's not the only ability the sharingan possesses." He finished staring at the ground thoughtfully.

_'I think that's the longest I've ever heard him speak,'_ I thought, totally mesmerized by the realization.

"Correct," Zabuza grumbled, "that isn't it—the scary part is that the sharingan can understand how an opponent's technique works, and then can copy it."

Thick mist rolled in as he spoke, creating a barrier that prevented easy eye-sight.

Taking a deep breath, I kept myself calm, blinking to keep my eyes clear.

"When I was in the hidden Village of the Mist assassination squad, your information was listed in the bingo book asking for your capture—it also listed the man who copied more than 1000 techniques, Kakashi the copy ninja." Zabuza spoke, seemingly trying to show he knew more about his opponent then he actually does.

_'For such a lazy guy, he sure does have a great reputation,'_ I thought watching as the information sunk in for everyone else, _'but then again, he wasn't always so laidback.'_

"Wow!" Naruto gushed, eyes glinting in awe as he stared up at Kakashi's figure.

_'Looks like he found a new role model.'_

Eyes peering over at a suspicious Uchiha, his obsidian eyes locked with mine, thoughts basically screaming he didn't get why Kakashi had the sharingan.

I shook my head briefly, expression apologetic as I conveyed that Kakashi wasn't a part of his lost clan.

He broke his gaze from mine and returned it to the battle, face a bit hard and shoulders tense.

Sighing, I too returned to the situation—not liking the intent that was slowly making its way through the mist.

"Let's cut the chit chat here," Zabuza announced, looking ready to pounce, "I have to kill that geezer right away."

Springing into action, all three of team seven formed a protective circle around a shocked Tazuna, kunai outstretched and poised to attack.

"But it seems I have to defeat you first, Kakashi," Zabuza growled, crazed eyes locked on the silver-nin.

Kakashi stood before the group, looking prepared for whatever attack thrown his way.

With lightning fast speed, Zabuza appeared on top the water, blade held firmly in his wrapped hands.

"There!" Naruto shouted, blue eyed gaze locked on the missing-nins figure.

"He's standing on the water?" Sakura proclaimed, shocked.

From my spot just to the right of Sasuke, I took a step forward to watch his next move, replaying what I planned on the trip here.

_'Keep your attacks hidden,'_ I thought, watching as the missing-nin embedded a ton of chakra into the water, _'keep yourself hidden—you don't want your cover to get blown _now _of all times.'_

"Mist concealment," Zabuza barely audibly whispered as he disappeared, hand signs formed and appearance invisible.

"He'll try to eliminate me first," Kakashi stated, eyes trained on the water.

Nervous, Sakura bit her lip, "what is he?" she asked Kakashi, emerald eyes glinting.

"Zabuza Momochi. He was in the Village hidden in the Mist's ANBU, and was known for his silent killing techniques." He explained, both eyes still scanning the horizon of the water.

Naruto visibly paled, "Silent?" he trailed of, slightly on edge at the thought.

"Just as the name implies, it's a killing technique that's executed in a flash and carried out in absolute silence. It's possible you'll be dead before you even realize it—so don't let your guard down." He finished, essentially conveying how serious the situation was now, "but if you fail, you're only going to die."

"Don't sound so carefree," Sakura shouted, scowling at Kakashi.

We waited in silence after that, glancing aimlessly through the worsening mist.

"It's getting thicker," Naruto shouted, eyes wide as he realized he couldn't see much anymore.

I couldn't blame him—it was getting hard to see Kakashi standing barely a foot in front of me—let alone a hiding missing-nin somewhere in the treeline.

"The Land of Waves is surrounded by the ocean, so a mist often emerges," Tazuna explained, sounding as if he hoped it was the reason for the overly thick mist.

Kakashi was completely covered by now—the only visible thing near me being my own hands.

At that itself was scary enough.

"Eight points…" a voice whispered through the mist, sounding as if it was surrounding us from all sides.

Tense, I took a step closer to Naruto and Sasuke, shuddering as I realized he was most likely right behind us.

"What is it?" Sakura asked, shaking and frightened in the never-ending mist.

"The larynx, spine, lungs, liver, jugular, vein, collarbone, kidney, and heart," Zabuza whispered a second time, voice raspy and echoing, "now which vital organ do you want to get struck at?"

Shivering visibly now, I couldn't believe how much killer intent this guy actually has.

_'It's almost…suffocating,'_ I realized, watching as I wasn't the only one affected.

Feeling a sharp wind of just pure chakra rip through the air, I noticed the mist roll away quickly—revealing a battle-ready Kakashi standing directly in front of everyone with his hands in a seal.

Feeling Sasuke slightly tremble from beside me, I felt my eyes widen at his sudden frantic behavior.

"Sasuke…?" I whispered, majorly concerned.

Sasuke didn't get afraid—I've only seen him afraid a handful of times in my life here—so the way he was acting now was a complete shock.

_'The killer intent—the bloodlust—it's getting to him,'_ I deducted, feeling myself slowly start to fall under its spell, _'I need to do something about it.'_

With unmasked horror as Sasuke's hold on the kunai became a little more strained and a little too close to him for comfort, I lashed out quickly—holding his arm in an iron grip.

Hazed obsidian eyes darted to me within seconds, before darting to a calm Kakashi.

"Sasuke, don't worry—I'll protect the three of you with my life; I won't let anyone on my team die," Kakashi stated, turning to show a small, close-eyed smile.

Visibly relaxed now, Sasuke gave me another look, small gratitude showing in his eyes as I breathed a wobbly sigh of relief.

"Don't do that again," I muttered inaudibly between us, tone slightly shaky, watching like a hawk as he nodded slowly.

It took me a second to finally release his arm from my hold.

"I wouldn't be so sure of that," Zabuza's voice cut in, now directly poised behind us.

Frozen in fear and shock, my bright green eyes trailed in slow motion towards his sneering figure—mind to sluggish to react quickly.

"This is the end."

In the next moment, I felt myself being pulled away—watching in disbelief as Kakashi was there, eyes blazing and kunai thoroughly lodged in Zabuza's stomach.

_'If only it were that easy.'_

Water trailed out of the clone—another Zabuza appearing right behind him.

"Sensei! Look out!" Naruto shouted, cerulean eyes wide in horror.

"Die!" Zabuza yelled, eyes narrowed as he came into contact and cut straight through Kakashi.

For a frightful second, I thought I had actually watched him die—but then realized what Zabuza had cut through had been a copy of his own water clone.

_'I'm most likely going to have a heart attack,' _I thought, trying to calm my frayed nerves, _'ninjas are crazy.'_

With evident surprise, Zabuza recognized the copy of his own jutsu—shock turning quickly into frustration, Zabuza realized exactly what Kakashi had done.

"Don't move," the jounin ordered, kunai pointed towards the missing-nins throat, "this is the end." He finished, repeating Zabuza's words from before.

Naruto and Sakura lit up in amazement, thinking that Kakashi had won.

But from what memory served, the fight wasn't even halfway finished yet.

Chuckling, there was a sadistic grin under Zabuza's mask, tone mocking, "Is this the end? You don't understand—you can't defeat me with just your indiscriminate imitations. I can assure you that."

Clenching his teeth, Kakashi narrowed his eyes.

"But you're pretty good; I see the you've copied my water clone technique when you said you'd protect you team—by making your clone speak as if it were the real one, you diverted my attention to the clone," he deduced, grinning ferally from under the bandages around his face, "while the real one used the mist concealment technique to hide and observe my movements. However, I'm not that easy to defeat."

It was another replay of the exact same situation—the clone disappeared and another Zabuza appeared behind a shocked Kakashi, sword swinging full-force towards the jounin.

Ducking just in time, Kakashi avoided the fatal blow, but still managed to get hit by Zabuza's skilled kick.

Getting sent into the air, Zabuza took the chance to take a hit—stopping short at the sight of caltrops.

Scoffing, he turned, irritation evident, "how idiotic," he muttered, glancing around the area.

As Zabuza leapt away, Kakashi dropped into the water—disappearing from sight.

Naruto cried out for Kakashi, while Sakura looked as if though in disbelief.

I couldn't blame either one of them.

"His hand-to-hand combat is superb," Sasuke muttered, shoulders locked, glancing around warily.

Breaking the surface of the water, Kakashi came up for air, seemingly confused about something.

'Oh no,' I thought, watching as Zabuza slid right behind a trapped Kakashi, forming hand seals quickly.

"Idiot," scoffed Zabuza, smiling cruelly as Kakashi turned around in shock, "hydro-prison jutsu!"

Within seconds, a surprised Kakashi was locked in a sphere of water—trapped with no way of getting free on his own.

"Now then Kakashi," Zabuza spoke, gaze directing towards us, "I'm going to finish you off later—first, I'm going to get rid of them."

Backing up a step, I turned my gaze swiftly to each member of team seven—mind racing on what to do.

I wasn't in the least prepared for this moment—no amount of planning and knowledge could ever truly prepare me for this moment.

This was to be my first real battle, and not only my life was at stake; I couldn't afford to lose here.

"Water clone jutsu." I heard him speak, and multiple clones sprung up from the water.

"The three of you have forehead protectors on as if you think you're ninja," he chuckled, amused by the evident fear, "but ninja refers to someone who has gone through numerous life and death situations. In other words, you can call yourself ninja when you appear in my bingo book; you three aren't ninja."

With his hand raised in a seal, the dreaded mist came rolling through once more, shielding him from sight.

_'They may have made it through the first time,'_ I thought, biting my lip, _'but from this viewpoint, this battle looks nearly impossible.'_

Watching in horror as Naruto got flung back, I whipped my gaze towards a grinning Zabuza—acting as if the fear he detected was exciting.

As he stomped on the blonde's forehead protector, he faced us with heightened killer intent, "you're just kids."

Shocked, Sasuke turned towards a fallen Naruto, Sakura yelling his name in concern.

So far, this fight wasn't turning out good.

"Everyone," Kakashi shouted, sounded actually afraid, "grab Mr. Tazuna and run! You can't win against him! He can't move as long as he has me trapped in this water prison; he also won't be able to use his clone once you get away from him! Run for now!"

Shaking, I looked at Sasuke, shaking my head.

We couldn't run—Sasuke knew that—_team seven_ knew that.

Nodding, Sasuke clenched his teeth, staring directly at Kakashi with determination, "Run? You gotta be kidding. When you were caught, that was no longer an option. Even if we run, Zabuza will get to us sooner or later since we don't have you—we'll get annihilated."

Narrowing his eyes, he ran forward, much to my surprise, "We have to do it!"

_'Crap,'_ I thought, looking to the sky fleetingly before setting my gaze back on Sasuke, _'I guess there is no other choice.'_

Connecting eyes with the Uchiha, I nodded once, a nervous smile stretched across my face. I directed my gaze to the weapon he had on his hip, before glancing towards my own.

I knew for a fact he understood my meaning of attack, eyes determined as his target set on the cruelly grinning missing nin.

Running with a kunai interlocked between my fingers, Sasuke flung multiple shuriken Zabuza's way—all which the missing-nin deflected easily.

However, he didn't factor in my surprise attack.

A stray kunai I threw managed to swipe past his shoulder—causing a shallow cut.

Grimacing, he had no time to react to my hit as he dealt with Sasuke, dark eyes trained on the Uchiha's leaping figure.

"Too easy," he muttered, grabbing Sasuke's throat in a death grip.

Horrified as he squeezed his neck tightly before throwing him to the side like a ragdoll, I was met with a sudden feeling of dread.

I didn't factor Sasuke getting injured as part of my plan of attack—nor did I remember that specific attack in the original fight.

"Sasuke-kun!" Sakura screamed, equally horrified.

Naruto just stared on with blank surprise, not able to understand how the avenger got cast off so easily.

I noticed how he made a motion to run away, before staring down at his bandaged hand, stopping dead in his tracks.

Calming my nerves, I bit my lip, eyes locked on Zabuza; the bad feeling only intensifying.

Cerulean eyes locked on the forehead protector at Zabuza's feet, and the orange clad boy leaping up with a determined mindset.

He ran forward with a battle-cry, no weapon in hand—only a surge of defiance.

Zabuza seemed to be only amused.

"Idiot! Stop!" Kakashi yelled, scared for the whiskered boy.

"Naruto! What are you doing!" Sakura screamed, afraid.

With one last cry, he leaped, getting flung back with a powerful kick.

"Idiot," Zabuza muttered, smirking at he saw the boy crumple in the dirt.

Cringing at Naruto's hurt form, I scanned to make sure he was ok, tuning in to Sakura's worried scolding, "What are you thinking charging in by yourself? Even Sasuke isn't a match for him! Genin like ourselves have no way of defeating him no matter what we try—!"

She was cut short as he slowly stood, grinning as he stared down the missing-nin before him.

Everyone's attention was focused on his hand, a forehead protector clutched tightly within it.

Standing slowly, the whiskered boy grew serious as his eyes stared directly at Zabuza, "Hey—the no-brow there—put this into your bingo book; the man who will become hokage of the Hidden Village of Konoha one day—the Konoha-styled ninja—Naruto Uzumaki!"

Green eyes softening into a smile as he retied the forehead protector around his head, I felt the determination rolling off him in waves.

_'Same old Naruto.'_

"Sasuke," Naruto stated, smiling as he stared down the missing-nin, "lend me your ear for a second."

"What do you want?" Sasuke asked, looking as if he already knew the answer.

"I have a plan," Naruto grinned, clenching his fists in anticipation.

"I'm all ears" He stated, obsidian eyes becoming fierce.

I was sent an arrogant glance, along with a signature Uchiha smirk, and I scoffed in reply.

Secretly though, it was actually captivating in a sense.

"Let's go wild!" Naruto yelled, smiling ferally.

"You seem to be quite confident, but do you even have chance for victory?" Zabuza spoke, sounding as if he knew something we didn't.

There was a shocked paused, and I was apprehensive for an answer

"What are you doing?" Kakashi yelled, "I told you to run away! The mission is to protect Mr. Tazuna—did you forget that?!"

Blinking, Naruto directed his gaze towards a sage looking Tazuna, pursing his lips, "Old man?"

Nodding his head, he smiled, "Don't worry—I caused this mess—sorry everyone, fight as much as you want; go save your sensei!"

Smirking, Sasuke turned back towards the front, "That's how it is."

"Are you ready?" Naruto asked, looked pretty excited.

"You sure don't learn, do you?" Zabuza asked, resulting in multiple glares as he adjusted his sword, "still pretending to be ninja? When I was your age, my hands were already soaked in blood."

Clenching his teeth, Kakashi stared up at the demon of the mist with a glare, "A long time ago, the Hidden Village of the Mist was known as the hidden Village of the Bloody Mist; in that village there existed and obstacle that existed to become a ninja."

"Oh, so you know about the final test there as well?" Zabuza asked, chuckling sadistically.

"Oi," Naruto spoke up, wanting answers, "What was the final test?"

The laughter continued, resulting in an eerie feeling throughout the area.

"Student's killing each other. Friends who had eaten from the same pot were forced to fight each other until one was killed. This is done with friends that have helped each other, shared their dreams, competed together." He rasped, still looking as if though he found the idea amusing.

"How awful…" Sakura trailed off, hand covering her mouth.

"Ten years ago, the Hidden Village of the Mist had to go through a reformation—because in the previous year, a monster appeared that finally decided it." Kakashi pitched in, eyes lazily looking at Zabuza.

"A reformation? What did that monster do?"

Staring seriously, Kakashi continued with his explanation, "A small boy who had not even gained the right to become a ninja killed more than 100 candidates that year—and killed them all without hesitation."

At Zabuza's feral look, I shuddered as I realized exactly _who_ that small boy was.

"That was fun," Zabuza muttered, looking as if he was remembering a favorite childhood memory.

_'How sick.'_

There was a slight shift in Zabuza's stance, and I was already on edge.

I needed to intervene before he made a move—and _fast_.

_"Do what's right,"_ Death's voice muttered, _"changing the events here can be wise—but they have a cost."_

_'So much for hidden attacks and my cover.'_

As the missing-nin came hurtling quickly towards a surprised Sasuke, I leapt in front of said boy, pushing him a far distance away.

_'I really didn't think this through,'_ I thought, feeling the impact of a powered kick connect directly into my back.

I felt the horrified gaze I was being sent by Sasuke, but was too busy biting my lip as the kick connected once again, but this time the foot stayed there—pressing deeper into the middle of my back.

"What's this?" I heard Zabuza chuckle, realization flashing through his beady eyes, "I didn't know you had another runt Kakashi; pretty good at hiding too"

Kakashi's eyes narrowed, eyebrows furrowing in confusion, conveying that he didn't know either.

"You're a sneaky one," Zabuza muttered, grinning wildly from under his bandages, "you've used nature chakra to hide yourself—a good method—but not good enough."

By now, everyone but Sasuke was staring at Zabuza like he'd grown two heads—trying to figure out what was happening.

I, on the other hand, was getting crushed to death.

Letting out a hushed yell as he dug his foot deeper, I heard a small crack, pain shooting through my limbs at the sound.

"Sana!" I distantly heard the shout, voice barely audible in my ringing ears.

Clawing my fingers in the dirt, my eyes connected with Kakashi's—green meeting sharingan red.

The shouts were now distinguishably Sasuke, along with the sadistic laughter erupting from Zabuza—but they were slowly draining into a deafening silence. All I saw was the tomoes spin slightly, Kakashi's eye trying to discern my invisibility and somehow see through it.

As the spinning stopped, I felt something break.

Foreign energy rushed into my limbs and familiar energy rushed out—leaving me slightly disoriented from the ordeal.

I felt heavy—slow even—as if everything was weighing me down.

_'Well, there is a giant foot on your back,'_ I snarked internally.

But I subconsciously knew it wasn't just the foot—it was the air around me too.

There were shocked gasps coming from all directions, and I found myself wondering what just happened.

"Ah, so you finally show yourself?" he chuckled, the demon's voice sounding so far away.

Confused by his statement, I furrowed my eyebrows, too dazed to even think.

In the next instant, there was another loud yell, followed by multiple crashing noises. I somehow ended up being pulled away swiftly, pressure lifting off my back and pain fading.

Opening my eyes, I found myself staring tiredly in concerned obsidian. As my eyes opened completely, I visibly saw him sigh in relief, before he gave the person next to me and unreadable look. With that, he was gone.

"Shadow clone jutsu!" I heard come from the clearing, along with multiple shuriken and kunai being thrown.

Breathing in deeply, I sat up slowly, tired eyes connecting with a shocked Sakura and Tazuna.

With surprise, I realized they were looking _at_ me, and not _through_ me.

Dazed, I felt realization sink in, "you can actually see me?" I questioned, eager for a response.

At their shocked nods, I felt my head spin, not able to believe what was happening.

_'T-they…they can finally see me!'_

"Kakashi must have made me visible with his sharingan," I muttered, peering quickly towards the jounin whose eyes were trained on a fighting Naruto and Sasuke, "but how the heck did he manage that?"

"Uh," I heard a confused Sakura speak up, still giving me a weird look as her gaze switched between my forehead and my eyes, "not to sound rude, but who are you?"

Blinking, I turned back to her, ecstatic that she was actually conversing with me fully, "I promise to tell you as soon as this fight is over—our main focus now if to protect Tazuna." I mustered out, feeling as though each breath I took was a struggle.

Eyes growing hard, she nodded, raising her kunai as she stood firm.

Getting to my feet shakily, I did the same, ignoring the aching feeling in my back and ribs as I did so.

I was running on pure adrenaline now—and if I wasn't, I'd probably collapse.

But I couldn't; not now. I needed to stay awake for a bit longer—just until the fight was over.

Attention now back towards the fight, I grimaced as Zabuza managed a good blow to a good amount of Naruto clones.

"It's impossible," Tazuna shouted, looked fearful, "you can't beat a guy like that!"

"Don't worry," I muttered, slightly giddy at the fact I could talk and actually have my words received, "they'll win."

Tazuna sent me a look, before solemnly nodding.

Naruto gritted his teeth as he shouted Sasuke's name, tossing him a large shuriken.

Understanding flashed through my eyes at the exact same time Sasuke caught the weapon—the Uchiha smirking as he understood the motive.

"A shuriken won't work on me," Zabuza grumbled, tilting the hilt of his sword.

Ignoring the statement, Sasuke leapt into the air, throwing the large weapon with a loud yell.

As the clone went to deflect, the shuriken flew past, true target revealed as it hurtled towards the original.

With wide eyes, the real Zabuza caught it—only to have another hidden shuriken in its shadow.

Jumping, he dodged the flying piece of metal easily, grinning with crazed eyes as he stared at the group.

_'Their plan worked,'_ I thought, smiling widely as the shuriken disappeared into a grinning Naruto.

Flinging an unavoidable kunai, shock laced the missing-nin's face as he realized he'd been tricked.

"There's no way to dodge that," I whispered out loud, still smiling.

With a growl, Zabuza ripped his arm away from the jutsu, flinging his body to left as he dodged.

_'The kunai would've struck the shoulder of the arm he used to keep the prison in tact—but by dodging, he ultimately guaranteed his defeat by releasing Kakashi,'_ I thought, still amazed at how their plan actually was a success.

Cheek now visibly bleeding, Zabuza's angered expression locked on Naruto—his rage causing him to fling the shuriken in his hand at the still air-born blonde.

"You damn kid!" he shouted, prepared to throw.

However, he was cut off, blood flying through the air as a now free Kakashi caught the piece of metal with his hand

I could make out the murderous expression Kakashi was now giving the demon of the mist as Naruto and Sakura cheered, sharingan frightfully glowing with calculated anger.

"Naruto, your plan was impressive," He appraised, sounding proud, "you all sure have grown."

Laughing and smiling at the praise, Naruto went into full-fledge detail about how he went about with his plan, happiness radiating from his whiskered grin.

"I lost myself temporarily and cancelled the hydro-prison technique." Zabuza scoffed, trying to save his pride.

"No," Kakashi spoke, voice stern, "you didn't cancel that technique—you were forced to."

As the air became tense, Kakashi stared levelly at his opponent, "Let me tell you, the same technique won't work against me twice. What are you going to do now?"

"Sakura, Sana," Sasuke spoke, causing me to jolt, "don't let your guard down."

Sakura nodded, easily receptive to follow whatever Sasuke told her. She raised her kunai and was poised to strike.

I glanced at him discreetly, looking over to make sure he wasn't mortally wounded in anyway. When I saw the only thing that hindered him was a few scratches and some dirt, I felt myself relax a bit.

Pushing down the ache in my side, I smiled, rolling my eyes, "As if I would." I responded.

In turn, he nodded, mirroring my smirk.

Sakura and Tazuna just stared at the two of us not knowing what to think.

And honestly, as the battle began between Kakashi and Zabuza, I didn't know what to think either.

…

**Literally on a roll with the updating; hopefully you guys like the chapters?**

**Now I know there might be some questions regarding this chapter—so I feel like I should explain a few things:**

**Sana has nature covering her due to when she first appeared in the dimension; it's stated in an earlier chapter that Death did this in order to protect her from a sudden exposure to multiple different kinds of chakra.**

**Sana's nature covering was removed due to the sharingan seeing through its effects—ultimately breaking its sealing.**

**The covering was not broken earlier due to Kakashi not fully knowing that she was there—he may have had an idea, but only saw her as a random mass of nature chakra, and saw nothing of it. (I plan to state this in the next chapter, or chapter after that.)**

**Any other questions? Comments? Concerns? Let me know!**

**Thanks for reading!**


	13. Chapter 12: Chakra Exhaustion

**Summary: AU. When one dies, they don't expect to be brought back to life to help a lonely kid after a massacre. I've learned to start expecting the unexpected. (OC-centric)**

_***All rights for the characters go to Masashi Kishimoto; except for mine of course***_

(1/26/17)

Chapter 12

_First Person POV_

A fleeting thought occurred to me as I stood, slightly hunched with thick rolls of mist and killer intent wafting through the air:

'_When had this become my normal?'_

The air was dense as Sasuke, Sakura and I stood protecting Tazuna—a grim expression on my face as I watched a battle about to rage in front of me.

Kakashi's eyes were uncharacteristically steely, focused, I noted, deeming that this wasn't the casually laidback sensei I'd become accustomed to.

This was someone who was angry, murderous, and was willing to anything to protect his team.

Zabuza's posture was rigid under the sharingan's glare, sensing that he would lose if he didn't play his cards right. His left eye was noticeably twitching, dingy hands clenching and unclenching as he weighed his options.

I realized that I've never seen two people fight with such hostility—but I knew it wouldn't be the last hostile fight I'd experience either.

Before I could blink, something in the air shifted—pressure and energy were being thrown around mercilessly into the air, and I strained to focus as the two jounin before me were the main producers of such chaos.

Handsigns were being formed at the speed of light, correctly in sync and not a waiver in form from either opponent.

The glint in my eye turned into amazement as two large water serpents emerged from the lake, twirling and snarling as they circled one another. Once they collided, large waves that seemed like hurricanes erupted, and it was in that moment that I remembered Naruto was still in the water.

"Woah!" Sakura exclaimed, and I was brought from my own thoughts as a wave of its own came barreling at us—I tried to brace myself as the rushing water sent itself straight to my aching ribs.

_'Definitely going to be sore from this in the morning,'_ I cringed, stance still remaining firm in front of the bridge builder.

I could feel the tremors run through the ground as the dragons collided repeatedly—the whole situation itself was like multiple natural disasters happening all at once.

_It was exhilarating._

Kakashi and Zabuza were now locked in a standoff, blades pressed against each other as they fought for the upper hand.

Zabuza was slowly realizing what was happening in regards to Kakashi's sharingan around the same time I realized that Haku was near. It was a subtle shift in the atmosphere—a tiny flare of new chakra that came from the trees behind us that clued me in.

That, and I knew he'd be arriving soon anyway.

I discreetly turned my head to the side as I scanned the treeline, catching sight of a hidden mask in the leaves.

I could tell by the way the mask eerily glanced back at me that he knew I was aware of his presence. He would use that knowledge as a factor when they planned their next attack.

Which could turn into a positive situation, or a negative one.

_'I still have to convince them to become our allies,'_ I thought, biting my lip as I turned back towards the fight, _'how the hell am I supposed to go about doing that without KAkashi suspecting me of being an enemy?'_

"He's not just following," I heard Tazuna state, somewhat surprised, "He moves the same _way_ at the same _time_."

Crouching myself next to Sakura, I plopped myself so that I was sitting on the ground, shoulders facing forward as I listened to the beginning of their conversation.

"How's he doing that? How Sasuke?" came Sakura's inevitable question, eyes gazed directly towards the person she expected a reply from.

Sasuke never answered, dark eyes still gazing at the fight in deep thought—he was analyzing what was happening in specific detail, which was exactly uncharacteristic of him.

"It's his Sharingan," I stated, tone neutral as I continued to stare at the slow paced battle.

I felt her curious eyes drift to me for a second, before returning to the fight as well.

Kakashi continued to copy the demon-nin's jutsu and attacks, going as far as finishing his sentences to put Zabuza on edge.

And by the tick that formed on his forehead, I could say it was working amazingly.

"Water style: giant vortex jutsu!" Kakashi suddenly shouted, tomoes spinning as the technique completed itself.

It was the move that Zabuza was about to use, and said person was completely losing his mind over that fact.

"Impossible!" Zabuza shrieked as the large funnel of water came hurtling at him full force.

My eyes immediately noticed how he was cast underwater—they also noticed how it was directly about to hit us too.

_'This is the second time,'_ I grouched, once again cringing at the pain the seemed to come from my ribs upon contact, _'Kakashi needs to get better aim.'_

Hearing a loud thunk, I turned quickly towards the sound—watching as a barely conscious Zabuza was hit with multiple kunai, low, pained sounds following right after.

It would be bad to say that I did enjoy that just a little bit—but with my ribs as a witness, that was some sweet revenge.

"Can you see the future?" Zabuza rasped, head hanging as he stared up at a defiant and deadly Kakashi.

The copy nin's calm tone and narrowed eyes sent shivers down my spine—and I considered myself lucky that I wasn't the one on the receiving end of his wrath.

"Yes—this is your last battle," he drawled, "_ever_."

_'While he did sound cool, he didn't factor in Haku's arrival.'_

Two precise senbons shot through the air at lightning speed, and I had to blink at shock as they hit their target.

Immediately the missing nin's body went rigid, falling to the ground in a limp heap.

We could all just stare in shock at the surprise attack.

Slowly, my eyes traveled to Haku's figure, standing high above the dirt ground on the tallest of the tree branches—for such a confrontation, he seemed as calm as ever.

"You were right," he stated, revealing no expression from behind his mask, "it was his last battle."

I turned to see Sasuke's gaze directed at me, eyes seeming to ask if I knew this would happen. I glanced once at Haku, and then back towards the Uchiha with a small nod.

I didn't get a reply, but he himself seemed to be more at ease with my answer.

Biting my lip as the male population of team seven glared suspiciously at Haku, I could tell each one had a different reaction to what just happen.

And none of them were pleased.

Naruto pulled himself out of the lake with an angry expression, and I knew that this wasn't going to end well.

Sighing, I waited for the oncoming explosion.

As Kakashi leapt from his position in the trees, he knelt directly next to Zabuza, trying to see if there was a pulse.

I already knew he wouldn't find one—but I also knew that the demon nin wasn't actually dead.

But if I were to reveal that now, wouldn't I just mess up the plot? Or would that be a good thing?

As I mentally argued with myself on what I should do, I completely missed how Kakashi confirmed his death, and how livid Naruto became because of that.

"Thank you," Haku bowed, and I was brought out of my confused stupor, "I've been tracking Zabuza for a long time—waiting for this chance, to finally take him down."

His voice was light, and had utmost respect laced through each word.

It was a perfect disguise.

"By your mask, I see you're a tracker ninja from the village hidden in the mist," Kakashi deduced, probing with questions to get a correct answer.

Not missing a beat, Haku rose from his bow, facing Kakashi fully, "Impressive—I see you're well informed."

And in came Naruto, sliding in with hands clenched and eyes ablaze, "a tracker?!"

_'This doofus is getting angry over nothing,'_ I sighed, but hung in the background, letting the situation play itself out.

"Naruto, you don't even know what that is," Sakura sniffed, calling him out, "you missed the lesson on it as usual—tracker ninja have a special role; when a rogue ninja breaks away from their village, they carry all kinds of secrets with them concerning their village—therefore trackers are assigned to hunt down the rogues and eliminate them before they can tell the village's secrets to other nations."

I hid my snort with my hand, looking everywhere else but Naruto's lost and deflated expression.

"That's correct," Haku spoke, nodding down at Sakura, "I'm a member of the elite tracking unit from the village of the mist. It was my duty to stop Zabuza."

It was so weird knowing that everything the kind boy said was a lie—that every word spoken was just a cover up to the real story.

It was even weirder to not say anything about it.

_'I can't change anything right now—I want to, but I'll mess with so much,'_ I finally deducted, squirming a bit, _'but not saying anything makes me feel like I'm the actual liar.'_

Catching sight of a flash of orange, I realized Naruto couldn't hold in his anger any longer.

Cerulean eyes looked troubled, expression complete and utter disbelief.

I took notice of his clenched fists, I realized just how angry this made him.

"What is this?! Who do you think you are?!" he raged, pointing furiously at Haku.

"Easy Naruto," Kakashi tried to appease, walking closer to the huffing blonde, "he's not our enemy."

Still huffing and still upset, Naruto turned around ready to fire off at Kakashi as well, "That's not the point! Did you see what he did just now? Like that?! Zabuza was huge and powerful like some kind of monster! And this _kid_ who's no bigger than _me_ took him down! I mean, what does that make us?! We're just fumbling around—we don't know anything! _How can I accept that_?"

I was brought back a little at how powerful Naruto's speeches were—how easily influential they were. Just by looking at Sakura and Sasuke, I knew the speech affected them—hell, it even affected _me_.

"Well," Kakashi stated, standing directly next to the whiskered boy, hands casually in his pockets, "even if you don't accept it, it still happened Naruto."

A large hand rested itself atop the grumbling boy's head, and I smiled a bit at Kakashi's way of trying to teach him something.

"In this world, there are kids who are younger than you—and yet, stronger than me." he continued, not aware how his comment even made Sasuke the tiniest of bits irritated.

Again, in complete amazement of the ninja tricks shinobi could do, I stared with wide eyes as Haku disappeared in a spiral of wind—reappearing and landing softly next to his partner. Picking up the man who was obviously two sizes bigger than him, Haku nodded at us once again, about to leave, "Your struggle is over—and now, I must deal with the remains; there are many secrets within this body and I cannot allow them to get into the wrong hands. Please excuse me, and farewell."

With that, he made a handsign I've never seen before, and disappeared into the wind, Zabuza and all.

Shocked by his sudden departure, Naruto gasped, and I smiled at how childish he was at times like this.

Catching Sasuke's eye, I smiled even wider in contrast to his unhappy expression.

"He's gone Naruto, let it go," Kakashi stated, put out by the blonde's antics.

Still harboring some anger, Naruto fell to his knees as he began punching at the ground. "What are we even doing here?! We're nothing! I can't believe it!"

Sakura mumbled his name in concern, and I softly shook my head.

"As ninja, the things we encounter are never easy; _save_ your anger, for the next enemy." Kakashi slowly released Naruto's arm, pulling back just as Naruto's shoulder's slumped in defeat.

"We haven't completed our mission yet; and there are some things we must discuss," the copy nin exclaimed, turning to look at the rest of us—his eye pointedly staring at me for the second time that day, "we also still have to get the bridge builder, to his bridge."

Embarrassingly, I jumped a bit as Tazuna laughed, his chuckles deep and raspy, "sorry I caused all this trouble for ya; but you can rest at my house when we get to the village." He continued, tugging on his hat with the largest of smiles.

_'Sleep sounds amazing right now,'_ I thought dreamily, rubbing at my aching side.

"Alright, let's get a move on!" I distantly heard Kakashi order, before I realized something.

_He was about to faint from chakra exhaustion._

Rushing forward just as he began falling, I bit my lip as I caught him, straining under his weight.

Everyone else stared on with shock, gasping as they understood what just happened.

I felt Naruto's eyes land on me for the first time, just comprehending I was there.

"Oi, who are you?!" he shouted, pointing accusingly at me. It was ludicrous how he managed to out wit Zabuza when he here was now, acting like a five year old.

The sheer notion alone would've made me laugh aloud if it wasn't for the fact that Kakashi was heavy and my legs were about to give out.

"Not _now_ Naruto—help me carry Kakashi," I grunted, feet slipping in the mud.

I felt some of the weight get alleviated from my arms, and I turned to see Sasuke supporting Kakashi from the other shoulder.

Nodding my thanks, I tiredly casted my gaze to the rest of the group.

Sakura and Tazuna were right by my side, both their faces conveying confusion and shock i already knew would be there.

"W-what just happened?!" Sakura exclaimed, voicing everyone's thoughts.

I wiped stray strands of hair from my eyes, ignoring the shooting pain erupting from my ribs as I answered her, "Chakra exhaustion," I huffed out, stepping forward in order to drag Kakashi's limp body, "he'll be fine—he just needs rest for now."

I turned forward to walk some more, but stopped, immediately coming nose to nose with a narrowed eyed Naruto.

Returning his stare, I noticed Sasuke's growing annoyance.

"Move out of the way dobe," the Uchiha grumbled, seemingly exhausted himself and not wanting to put up with Naruto's antics.

"You're the ghost girl, aren't you," the blonde guessed, and I gestured my agreement.

I heard Tazuna and Sakura repeat the name in confusion, and I knew an explanation was inevitable.

"Look," I started, feeling a million emotions of just pure fatigue, "I'll explain my crazy situation once we get back to Tazuna's house and _sleep_, ok? Until then, Kakashi sensei is our top priority."

I was met with whiskered protest, but that was instantly shut down by the Uchiha's glare.

Silently thankful to the brooding avenger, I gave Tazuna a small smile, ready to trek home as fast as I could so that I could be met with sweet sleep.

_"Lead the way bridge builder."_

…

**Another chapter finished!**

**This particular one is mainly used as a filer to wrap up the last chapter; so nothing really quite important is taking place. Thank you all for being patient with my procrastination.**

**Any questions? Comments? Concerns? Let me know via PM or Review ;)**


	14. Chapter 13: Tree Climbing Woes

**Summary: AU. When one dies, they don't expect to be brought back to life to help a lonely kid after a massacre. I've learned to start expecting the unexpected. **

**(OC-centric)**

_***All rights for the characters go to Masashi Kishimoto; except for mine of course***_

(1/26/17)

Chapter 13

_First Person POV_

My first conscious thought as I woke up went along the lines of _'I feel like crap'_.

And it was true—my bleary eyes blinked repeatedly as I recounted that my ribs felt achy; my head weighing down like it was full of lead.

Small glimpses of yesterday's ventures of a battle, a long trek back to Tazuna's house, and Tazuna's daughter—now deemed Tsunami—caring for us all came rushing back to me. I knew they were true due to the white gauze that circled itself around my chest, holding my ribs in place so they could heal.

_'Huh, Zabuza must have fractured one,'_ I thought scowling, rubbing my side gingerly, _'or two.'_

But there was one more detail that stood stark in comparison to the rest:

Everyone who wasn't originally Sasuke could now _see me_.

As in, I wasn't invisible—I was fully tangible and my secret was out.

Immediate fear coursed through my veins, now realizing I was going to have to face the remaining members of team seven about why I just suddenly _appeared_.

Was _Death_ going to flip out?

Would team seven accept me? Would they see me as an outcast who wasn't even really a ninja?

Or worse—would they consider me an _enemy_?

Groaning, scenarios of the latter swirled in my mind, and I buried myself deeper in the soft blankets and pillows that surrounded me.

I wanted to drown myself in the fabric rather than face confrontation—a rather cowardly thing on my part, but hey, I was anxious.

I wanted them to like me—hell, the future I needed to save _depended_ on it.

I didn't notice I wasn't alone until I heard the distinct sound of someone clearing their throat

My wide green eyes peeked from underneath the soft material to stare up and into deep onyx, and I felt myself sigh a bit in relief as to who it was.

I slowly unraveled myself from my warm cocoon, glancing up at raised eyebrows and a look that questioned why I was acting strange.

"Kakashi is up," Sasuke stated, breaking the silence, "he doesn't believe that Zabuza is really dead. He believes we've been tricked."

I nodded, grimacing as I pulled my hair up into a high ponytail, noticing how Sasuke didn't miss the action.

"He'd be correct. Haku—the 'hunter-nin'—is actually Zabuza's accomplice." I murmured, agreeing and validating that Kakashi's suspicions were true.

Sasuke crossed his arms, an expression I have seen before but could never really decipher laced in his eyes, "Ah, you already knew."

Slowly nodding, because I didn't exactly know what he meant by that statement, I hesitantly agreed.

He closed his eyes for a second, before sighing, it seemed as though he wanted to ask something about the whole situation but didn't.

Instead, he asked something completely unrelated: "How's your ribs?"

Shocked by the sudden out of character inquiry, I furrowed my eyebrows, "They're fine—I mean, they could be better, but at least there was no fatal damage or anything."

His lips were pursed as he in turn nodded, slowly making his way towards the door. He trailed out slowly, before turning to look at me with a smirk that didn't quite meet his eyes, "Maybe if you didn't skip training, you wouldn't have gotten stomped on."

Spluttering at the light jab, I narrowed my eyes, scowling, "Whatever; I so saved you back there—_you_ should be the one training more."

I barely noticed how the glint changed in his eyes at that statement.

He just about completely turned the corner back to the room where team seven was, when I saw him glance back and utter something about Kakashi wanting to speak with me.

Tensing, I gulped—unnerved by the expression in Sasuke's eyes.

However, I pushed past it, resigning myself to accept the inevitable and walk into confrontation.

Shakily standing, I followed after him—walking towards an encounter I couldn't predict the outcome to.

…

"Explain everything." Was the first thing I heard as I entered in the room, my figure being scrutinized by the copy-nin as if I were suddenly about to attack.

_'I'm not even halfway through the door and I'm considered an enemy.'_

I swallowed a huge lump in my throat as crimson sharingan continued to stare at me—cerulean and emerald as well making its way into the mix.

The only one who wasn't glancing at me with suspicion in their eyes was Sasuke; the jerk was more amused by the situation rather than anything else.

Nodding, I sat on the ground closest to Sasuke and directly in front of Kakashi, legs crossed and arms folded across my chest in a sense of security.

"I don't know where to start." I uttered truthfully, meeting his gaze with only a slight hint of fear.

I needed to remain calm—if I didn't, I could blow this opportunity and be forced to leave.

And that would just ruin my plans entirely.

"You could begin with how you came here in the first place," Kakashi lazily stated with a calm tone, "or maybe how you've managed to remain undetected for all this time?"

My attention was cut from him and placed onto Naruto as soon as he started shouting, "Yeah! Who the heck are you?!"

Biting my lip to keep myself from laughing as Sakura elbowed him hard in the ribs, I knew it was now or never.

"My name is Susana Flynn—but most people call me Sana," I breathed, fidgeting, "and I was given a second chance at life."

I was met with raised eyebrows and slight disbelief, but swallowed down the hesitation.

"Second chance?" Sakura urged, curiosity gleaming in her wide eyes. She looked eager for answers—they all did.

"It's hard to believe, I know—but it's true. In my old life I died on the wrong date. Death—the grim reaper in other words—give me another life to live, but it had costs."

I twirled my hair as I glanced around the room, nervous and anxious and in need of confirmation that I wasn't making a fool of myself.

By the looks I was receiving, I was only creating more questions.

"Costs," Kakashi echoed, still doubtful, "what kind of costs?"

Pausing, I furrowed my eyebrows, looking at the wooden floor in deep thought.

How do I sum up the _fourth great shinobi war_ in only a matter of few words with the most vagueness possibly manageable?

"_Well_," eyes still trained to the floor so that I wouldn't have to look at anyone's reaction, "I wasn't originally from this dimension—I was from somewhere where ninja and chakra were only fantasy. So just being here is a huge risk—but there's so much more that'll happen in the future that I was given knowledge of that makes being here look suicidal."

I finally gathered enough bravery—and let me tell you, there wasn't much to begin with—to look them directly in the eyes.

My mind registered mostly shock, and a small dose of curiosity in everyone's expression—the main thing I saw was apprehension.

"So you know the future?!" Naruto spoke in a small, awe filled whisper—effectively breaking the awkward silence.

I smiled then, feeling at least a bit more comfortable under all the gazes now, "I know of a possible future—one where many die and many are called to battle. I have knowledge that can be considered a gift or a curse—either way, I'm here to change things."

At this point, I was looking straight towards Kakashi—subtly trying to get my message across that I couldn't reveal any more about this to them.

"But, wait," Sakura piped up, emerald eyes confused and a little defensive, "that doesn't explain how you know Sasuke-kun."

Blinking, I glanced quickly towards the Uchiha in question, who now was also under the scrutinized gazes of the remainder of team seven.

I sighed internally, a bit panicked as to how the number one fangirl of the Sasuke fan club was going to react to my predicament.

"Funny story, actually," I sheepishly smiled, rubbing the back of my head—glaring at the boy in question for not helping me explain, "Sasuke was the only one who could see me when I got here—since technically he and I share a similar experience."

Realization crossed over Kakashi's face, while Sakura and Naruto remained slightly confused.

"…We're also kinda sorta roommates, too." I added into the mix, and watched with fear and wonder as Sakura's face lit up in various forms of red as Sasuke shifted away from the raving girl.

"_You're what?!"_ she shrieked, but was ignored as Kakashi distinctly cleared his throat.

"Ah, I see." He muttered, digesting the new information as his expression was hidden by the mask that covered half his face, "I would like to talk to Sana, _alone_, for a second."

Sakura was still fuming, and Naruto looked ready to protest being told to leave.

I gazed at Sasuke, noticing he was already looking at me. Subconsciously nodding towards him, his apprehension died down a bit.

Sasuke somewhat knew why I needed to be on Kakashi's good side—he knew that if Kakashi considered me an enemy, I was done for.

The future would be done for.

Clearing my thoughts as the genin of team seven left, varying displays of grumbles and disagreements, I sat face to face with that of a seasoned killer.

"Does anyone else know of your existence?" I was asked as we were finally left alone.

"The hokage knows me—and has known since I've first arrived here when I was eight; I haven't actually spoken to him until recently," I grimaced, remembering the incident with the ANBU.

"And you know what is to happen in the future? But you won't reveal anything due to how dangerous it is?"

I nodded my agreements, but bit my lip, wanting so badly to confide him into everything—have someone I knew wasn't rotten to the core know what I know.

I wanted to get rid with the burden of knowing what was to come.

But could Kakashi really handle it?

I didn't notice how he observed my internal struggle—how easily he read my thought process. I wasn't used to people like Kakashi, and now that he knows I exist, my secrets weren't safe.

"I want to tell you more," I sighed before he could ask, propping my chin onto my hand as I shut my eyes tightly, "I _need_ you to know more—because I won't be able to change things on my own. Of course, the hokage knows, but he can only know so much with Danzo and the council breathing down his neck."

"You do not trust them," he observed, chin slightly inclined as he stared down at me.

"With what I know, I have no reason too; they're responsible for a lot of bad things—past, present, and future." I scoffed, dark thoughts of how to get rid of them forming in my mind.

The silent pause dragged on for a while, and I found that I wasn't the only one lost in my thoughts.

"Kakashi?" I hesitantly asked after some time, deciding firmly on something.

I was met with a gesture that signified he was listening, my green eyes gaining the full attention of his dark gray one.

"I—I wasn't be totally truthful before." I stated, watching as his sole eye narrowed, "changing the future isn't actually the _real_ reason I'm here—!" I tried explaining, but was cut off by the copy nin himself.

"—Sasuke is the reason, isn't he?" he deducted, eye slightly crinkled at my flabbergasted expression.

Still in shock, I once again nodded—albeit more slowly, wondering how he knew.

"It's obvious," he stated, arms crossed, "if your story of dying and being brought back to this dimension is true, Sasuke being the only one who could see you right off the bat couldn't purely be coincidental."

I didn't breathe for some time, still amazed at how smart Kakashi was for being so lazy.

"Sasuke's future ties into the bigger future—I was brought back here to save Sasuke from his future self; and by doing so, I'll alter the future that I have seen quite a bit." I explained, slightly numb as I finally said those words aloud.

"…Is Sasuke aware?"

Snorting, I shook my head cynically, "Is Sasuke aware that his future self goes on a rampage and abandons the village seeking power for his clan's revenge? Hell no, and I don't plan on telling him anytime soon. However, he _is_ aware that I am here to help him—and honestly, that's all he _can_ be aware of for now."

Kakashi rubbed a hand down his face, seemingly as weary by my information just as I was.

"This future you're telling me about doesn't sound the most pleasant," he dryly remarked, and I lightly laughed.

"No," I sighed, "it isn't; but most people made it through—I mean, team seven made it possible then, so I'm sure this time even more will survive."

I distinctly heard him mutter something about how team seven was 'cursed'; and how he wasn't surprised it was directly entangled with the dark future ahead.

I couldn't help but agree with the first part.

We ended up sitting there for some time, the outside breeze still blowing softly throughout the room and the sun slowly setting.

I realized I gained a new ally—that the burden wasn't just mine anymore.

I realized that I wasn't as alone in this anymore.

Of course, Kakashi didn't know the full extent of what I did—but he had an idea.

And that was all I really needed.

"Come on," he spoke, standing with crutches and a signature eye crinkle that was never before directed at me until now, "dinner's almost ready."

Standing and running out the door before he even got a chance to take a step, I felt undeniable relief flutter through my veins, "_You don't have to tell me twice_."

…

Night passed and I found myself standing in the middle of a forested area during dawn. It was early, and I was still a bit uneasy about the fact that I wasn't such a secret anymore—but I found a new sense of freedom as interaction actually became more of a thing with the new genin.

Of course, Sakura was bit still upset over the whole 'roommate' thing—and a bit distrustful of me. Naruto on the other hand was basically asking questions a mile a minute—the most recurring one was whether or not I was a zombie.

Sasuke stayed the same as always—broody and arrogant; and Kakashi didn't seem to deem me as an enemy as much anymore.

That didn't mean he didn't watch my every move just in case.

I was distanced a bit further away than the members of team seven at the moment, watching with careful eyes as the copy-nin lectured on about the tree climbing exercise.

It was something I definitely wanted to learn—something I needed to learn—and yet, I wasn't sure if I could.

During the fight with Zabuza, something happened—something I wasn't exactly sure I could explain.

The sudden drain of energy and the sudden regaining of it had left me with some questions; not to mention whatever happened made me visible.

Death had been unnervingly silent during all of this—but that was the least of my problems at the moment.

The number one issue was what I was going to do about Zabuza and Haku.

I had a feeling if I mentioned it to Kakashi, he would think this was all a ploy and that I was actually on their side instead of Konoha's.

I mean, I didn't want the duo to die—but then again, it was because I didn't want them to attack during the war under the edo tensai.

So either way, it's a win for both sides, right?

I must have been spacing out for too long, finally regaining my senses as a hand waved in front of my face to break my concentration.

"Yo," I heard the distinct tone of Kakashi's voice state, causing me to blink and look up at him, "if you think any harder, your brain will explode."

"She doesn't have a brain to explode," i vaguely heard Sasuke mumbled a distance away, and Naruto's snort mixed with amusement and disbelief that Sasuke actually cracked a joke.

I glared a bit at the Uchiha and Uzumaki duo, sighing when they 'innocently' went back to practicing walking up and down the tree.

"Hey Kakashi," I uttered, looking at the tree in front of me with a thoughtful expression, "what does chakra feel like?"

He seemed a bit stunned at my question, before his eye looked skyward as if to give it some thought.

"Each person has a different type of chakra—and every person's experience with chakra is different; the overall feeling of energy running through your body is something only the individual can explain."

Biting my lip as I processed his words, I realized forming chakra was something I had to do on my own.

"When I first got here, I had Sasuke help me channel my chakra," I started to explain, somewhat nostalgic at the memory, "I ended up passing out from not being able to control it—Death had got to me before I could actually suffocate though. He said that in order to control it, I would first have to sort through my mindscape through meditation—I did of course, but ever since I haven't exactly tried to use my chakra."

He made a sound in the back of his throat, a sound that indicated he was both listening and trying to analyze my situation.

Shifting forward a bit clumsily with his crutches, he cast me a look that only meant he was up to something.

Without hesitation, he lifted his forehead protector, sharingan blaring and spinning as he stared straight at me.

Immediately worrying he was gonna overdo it and pass out, I protested, opening my mouth to convey he needed to turn it off before he keeled over.

He put a hand out to shush me, causing me to stop dead in my tracks and stare back at him.

It was unnerving, the sharingan—the deep crimson made your skin crawl, and the intensity at which it glowed made you freeze completely.

It truly was a force to be reckoned with.

"Ah," he uttered after a pause, "the nature chakra that was around you before is gone."

_'…What?'_

Furrowing my eyebrows, a little more calm now that he pulled his forehead protector back over his eye, I gave hm the most confused look I could manage.

"The nature chakra?" I questioned, still utterly bewildered, "what does that have to do with anything."

"It could be the reason why you are now visible to everyone else," he stated, sounding as if the concept was now making sense, "when I was trapped in that water prison jutsu, I detected a strong amount of chakra coming from under Zabuza's foot—and granted, I had noticed it before, but not as clearly as during the battle; my sharingan must have seen through the chakra and caused you to become tangible again."

Blankly glancing at him, realization kicked in—leaving me a bit numb from all the new information.

"That…makes sense—Death covered me in the chakra so that I wouldn't die from exposure to all the new energy—I didn't realize that by covering me completely in it, it would hide my presence altogether."

I was still confused, and a bit shocked—but that only lasted for a little while until I realized what this meant.

I just created a new technique for myself.

It was something that I could use to my advantage in getting information, or just flat out surviving this crazy dimension.

"If I can somehow manage to use that chakra to cover me again, I can use it as a technique." I thought aloud, smiling widely at the nodding copy nin.

_'I can't believe I didn't think of that sooner,_' I sulked, a bunch of new ideas forming in my head with the use of that technique.

"You first need to learn how to use your chakra, of course." Kakashi uttered with an amused tone, destroying my excitement all at once.

"Oh, ya—I gotta learn how to use it first." I repeated with wide eyes, sheepish and a little disgruntled.

"Hey! This is fun!" A voice called down to us, and I glanced up to see Sakura sitting high in the treeline with a wide smile on her face.

To my utter amusement, Sasuke and Naruto were gawking.

"Well, looks like the female member of the squad is the most advanced chakra controller—well done Sakura." Kakashi drawled, also amused by the boys reaction.

I walked a bit closer to Sasuke, smirking as Naruto praised the pink haired girl over and over.

Nudging the broody Uchiha with a bright smile, I noticed how his expression darkened, "Congratulate her, Sasuke."

He scoffed, turning back around to continue training, "Yeah, congratulations and whatnot."

Turning back towards Sakura, I noticed how she seemed to deflate a bit by Sasuke's reaction.

"Good job Sakura," I called, startling her a bit by my praise, "don't let Sasuke fool you, he's just jealous."

I kept my smile bright and cheery—something that was actually hard to do—as Naruto snickered and Sakura didn't know how to react to my words.

"As if," was grumbled from behind me, yet I ignored it in order to keep watching them train.

"Well, not only does Sakura understand chakra, she can easily use it as well; we spoke of _someone_ one day becoming hokage—looks like she has a better chance of doing that," Kakashi taunted, and I started snickering at the blonde's angered face, "and maybe the _great_ Uchiha clan isn't so great after all."

By now, I was full on shaking, trying to hide my snickers from a glaring Sasuke.

"That's enough! You talk too much sensei," Sakura shouted, afraid that Sasuke would deem Kakashi's teasing as her fault.

Sasuke's and Naruto's eyes connected, each pair determined to master the tree walking exercise—I took it as being my cue to master this as well.

Noticing that Kakashi made his descent up into the tree himself, perched quietly as he observed the genin below, I began walking a bit further left to find my own tree.

Catching sight of a striped hat as Naruto began spewing nonsense of rivalry and getting to the top first, I peeked a bit around the tree to see who it was.

Shocked, dark brown eyes stared back at me—a bit startled and sheepish in expression.

"You're Inari, right?" I guessed, squatting so we were eye level.

He tensed as I spoke, nodding in a slow, guarded manner.

"I'm Sana, it's nice to meet you," I greeted, happy expression now turning into accusing curiosity, "but I gotta ask—why are you out here?"

Inari blushed a bit, grumbling under his breath about ninjas and how they were just wasting their time trying to fight Gatou.

Recounting what I knew of the small boy, I got a little closer so that no one would hear our conversation or got suspicious.

"I know you don't believe that they can change things here—but they're going to try their best—_I'm_ going to try my best; have a little faith, kiddo," I whispered, smile still soft and understanding, "now go home, before your mom and grandpa get worried."

I received another nod, before watching his small form scurry away, hands formed into fists.

_'Huh, it's weird to think that in a matter of days he's gonna unite his town against Gatou,'_ I pondered, loosely clutching a stray kunai in hand as I stood in front of my tree, _'I'm glad to see that things are going to start to change for him—and his town.'_

Sighing, I turned forward, panic slightly bubbling in my stomach as I realized I was going to have to use chakra for the first time in forever.

Concentrating, I distantly remembered the explanation I heard about chakra from the academy—listening with intensity to Iruka's long lectures of how to use it and how to channel it.

"Breathe," I told myself, grip tightening on the handle of the sharp knife, "Channel, and breathe."

I instantly found that blob of energy deep in my stomach like I had in the field with Sasuke all those years ago—except it wasn't that easy to manipulate anymore.

Focusing on solely channeling the energy to my feet, I could feel myself start to sweat from exertion.

_'What the heck—why is this so hard?'_ I asked myself, bewildered as to why the chakra was suddenly unresponsive.

"The nature chakra was your natural supply of spiritual energy—now that it's gone, your own reserves are struggling to create themselves." A deep, raspy voice spoke, sounding a little too close for comfort.

Turning around with shock and wide eyes, I gasped as I saw Death standing next to me, in broad daylight.

"What are you doing here?" I questioned quietly, wide eyes glancing towards everyone else to see if they noticed the skeleton guy in the black robe casually talking to me.

"Fret not, child—they cannot see me; though, it would be in your favor if you didn't draw so much attention to yourself—they eldest of the group is giving you an odd look." He lightly stated, pointing towards Kakashi's suspicious look.

Smiling back with a small wave, I whirled around, staring very pointedly at the tree, "you never answered my question."

"Ah, yes—I am here to help you, of course; otherwise you'd never learn how to use chakra."

I was a little insulted at the insinuation that I couldn't learn this on my own—but resigned to not caring due to how right he was.

"You are gathering your chakra, but only your body—the spiritual side must be intermixed if you want this to work." He explained, and I gave him a deadpan look.

"…And how am I supposed to do that?"

He sighed, giving me the look that displayed how impatient he was getting.

"Concentrate on not only your being, but the energy around your being—focus on drawing that energy towards you and into your feet."

Doing just that—with some drawn out effort—I could feel how powerful the earth around me actually was—it was almost to the point where it was a little suffocating, and for a fleeting moment I thought I had gone too far.

"Calm yourself child, this won't be like before—just concentrate."

I took a deep breath, eyes shut and body slightly numb.

A rush of _something _traveled down to my feet—it felt empowering, and for the first time since coming here I felt like I was actually strong.

I felt like running up this tree was something I could actually do with no hesitation—or injury.

I denied the tiny sliver of doubt that came over me and placed one foot against the tree—smiling widely as it actually stuck.

Overly joyful at this point—because oh my god I'm walking up a _tree_—I practically ran up the side, laughing breathlessly as I gained distance from the ground.

That was, until my concentration broke and I was sent flying back down.

Fear coursed through my veins as I realized that I was about to become a pancake, but squashed it down as adrenaline took over.

Quickly slashing a line into the bark, I felt wind rush beneath me as the ground got closer, feet connecting solidly with the ground.

I quickly lost my balance and essentially landed not so gracefully on my bottom, cursing quietly as I sat there.

I glanced up towards the tree, pushing hair behind my ears so I could see my mark better.

There was a considerable distance—yet when I glanced back towards the boys, I noticed I was only halfway there.

"Good work," I heard from Death, casually standing as if his presence here wasn't abnormal, "but next time, try not to fall on your way down."

Grimacing, I got to my feet, a slight determined scowl on my face, "Easier said than done."

…

It was the next day—and predictably, what did I find myself doing?

Climbing trees.

The amount of time I've been climbing trees?

Two days.

Was I about to scream in frustration and go on a rampage?

You bet I was.

Sakura had finished the exercise and mastered it with flying colors—therefore Kakashi had deemed it ok that she went with the bridge builder and guard him for the day.

_'Man, I so wish I was her at the moment,'_ I rasped internally, out of breath with splinters in my hands, _'I'm about to pass out any second.'_

Granted I had gotten farther than the day before—but by now I was just plain sweaty and exhausted.

Glancing back towards Sasuke and Naruto, I wondered briefly how they had the resolve to keep going.

"Argh," Naruto growled, sitting on the ground with his hands raised in the air, "Why is this so hard?!"

We were all breathing heavily, worn out and ready to just get it over with.

Honestly, I was ready to be done hours ago, when the sun wasn't shining so brightly and the bugs weren't out.

Death hadn't contacted me at all since yesterday—and I was kind of missing his company; because the only sort of company I had right now was frustrated and currently trying to outdo the other.

Sighing as they glared at each other for practically the fiftieth time tonight, I got back to focusing on walking sideways up the tree—resolved to continue tomorrow if I didn't make it this time.

I closed my eyes, knotty hair tied up and the will to master the technique getting greater by the second. I could feel enormous amounts of chakra all through the area, and tried with every bone in my body to collect some and combine it was the reserves I already had in my own self.

I learned yesterday from Death that the method I was using was unorthodox—that it was abnormal and not typically tried by seasoned shinobi.

But it worked—and I was not going to unravel all my progress based on the fact that I wasn't using the stereotypical technique.

When I finally had enough combined and gathered, I focused on pushing it all towards the soles of my feet, gathering it quickly as I managed to plant my foot on solid bark.

_'Let's do this for the millionth time,_' I mentally sighed, but fiercely began running with a vigor I didn't originally possess.

Halfway up the tree I was breathing heavy, exhaustion creeping in again as my vision got blurrier by the second.

"Well, this is gonna be a problem," I slurred as I managed to take a few more steps higher, before losing connection completely.

It took me a full second to realize I was falling—from over fifty feet in the air, I might add—and that if I didn't get it together, I really was going to be a pancake this time.

Screaming loudly—because I didn't want my cause of death to be from _falling out of a tree_ of all things—I caught myself on the nearest branch, gripping it tightly as I stared down at the ground only thirty feet below.

Wide eyed, I realized I caught the attention of Naruto and Sasuke, who looked a bit startled and pale themselves.

"…Well that was a close one, huh?" I laughed sheepishly, watching as Naruto broke out into a relieved grin of his own and Sasuke's look become disbelieving.

"You idiot," Sasuke sighed as I managed to get down from my branch, "how do you just lose concentration like that?"

Turning an annoyed glare at his figure, I watched as Naruto once again raced up the tree, slowly getting closer to Sasuke's height in the treeline.

"Looks like he's slowly catching up to you," I casually stated, knowing it was only going to make him annoyed.

He grunted, taking off and up the tree as well.

Rolling my eyes—because their rivalry truly was as intense as it had been in the show—I plopped myself down to sit for a second, trying to catch my breath.

They both landed, panting and sweating as they also tried to regain their breath.

I watched curiously as Naruto made a handsign, closing his eyes in a manner that screamed he was getting serious.

As soon as he tried running up the tree, he was distracted by Sasuke calling his name, ending up face first into solid wood.

I smiled a bit as he turned around with a livid expression, cursing and demanding to know what the heck Sasuke's problem was.

My attention was taken off the raging blonde and placed on the oddly quiet Uchiha—and let me tell you, it was truly a sight to be seen to be believed.

Sasuke looked like his pride was about to be hurt, a light blush making its way on his face.

I actually blinked a few times to make sure I wasn't just seeing things.

"Well, uh," he stated, hands stuffed in his pockets as he refused to make eye contact with anyone, "ya know, the thing is—!"

"The thing is what?" Naruto grumbled, arms crossed and cerulean eyes narrowed.

"You know—you asked Sakura for advice when she was here—_so what did she tell you_?" he muttered out, pride definitely hurt by now.

I, on the other hand, was a few seconds away from either dying of laughter, or from shock.

Naruto's whiskered face scrunched up in delight as he stared the Uchiha down, awfully giddy at this point.

"I'm not telling you." He uttered, and Sasuke's expression turned angry.

His eye was twitching as he and Naruto stared the other down—not once noticing I was hysterically cackling.

_'And the rivalry is only going to get worse from here on out.'_

…

After a few hours and a short trek home, I realized my prediction was true.

Team seven plus me and Tazuna's family were all gathered around the small, brown table in preparation for dinner, starving and a bit tired.

That is, except for Naruto and Sasuke.

The duo was currently glaring heatedly at the other, chowing down their food like wild animals in some sort of 'competition'.

I sat between Inari and Sasuke, crinkling my nose at the sight.

"You two are gross." I muttered, losing my appetite slowly as bits of food start flying in random directions across the table.

My statement went unnoticed as they both sat up and declared for seconds.

Rolling my eyes as they both turned to the side and emptied their stomachs, I scooted myself a bit closer to Inari.

"Don't eat so much if you're going to puke it up!" Sakura shouted, looking beyond annoyed at this point.

I couldn't help but agree.

"I have to eat." Sasuke stated, glare still set on Naruto.

"And I have to eat more than him." Was Naruto's reply.

Kakashi, Sakura, and I oddly sighed in unison, wondering what we did to get stuck with knuckleheads like them.

They finally mellowed out after some persuasive convincing from Kakashi, and silence reigned the room for a bit.

Taking a sip of my tea, I noted that ever since team seven was formed, there hadn't been a moment in my second life that was quiet.

And I was going to enjoy it while I could.

Glancing up as Sakura caught sight of the picture on the wall, I kissed my silent moment goodbye.

_'It was good while it lasted.'_

"Excuse me," she asked, arms folded behind her back, "this picture is torn—is there some reason for that? Inari, you kept glancing at it all through dinner; it looks like someone else was in the picture but got torn out. I mean that's kinda strange, isn't it?"

_'I never noticed how…blunt Sakura could be.' _I thought, eyebrows furrowed.

Sasuke caught my eye, and I easily understood he was asking if I knew why it was torn.

I nodded briefly, but didn't elaborate, before taking another sip of tea as the mood in the room became darker.

"It's my husband," Tsunami stated in a hushed tone, never once turning away from the dishes.

A short pause occurred, before Tazuna spoke up with a sad look in his eye.

"They used to call him a hero in this land." He muttered, hat shielding his eyes as he looked down.

I heard Inari shuffle from right next to me, hopping down from his chair as he slowly walked away.

"Inari!" Tsunami called, motherly concern in her eyes, "where are you going?!"

The small kid exited through the front door and closed it with an audible bang, making the mood of the room even darker.

Tsunami chased after him, turning around only once to scold her father for even continuing the conversation.

I kept my eyes downcast as Tazuna told the rest of the story, filling us with every detail of how cruel and twisted Gatou was.

I knew Gatou was bad—but I never knew it was to that extent.

"…Since then, Inari changed—so did Tsunami, and all our people. We lost our will." He finished, staring ahead as if watching the events unfold before him.

I looked up as soon as I heard a loud thud, confused once I saw Naruto had gotten up and tripped over his own feet.

"What are you doing down there Naruto?" Sakura questioned, more bewildered by his actions than annoyed.

"You better take the day off," Kakashi suggested, hands folded before him, "no more training—you've used too much chakra."

With some strain, the whiskered boy pushed himself off the ground, eyes fierce and determined as he stared directly at the bridge builder.

"I'm gonna prove it."

"Prove what?" Sakura asked, glancing down at him as she leant against the windowsill.

"I'll prove that it's true! That in this world, there are real heroes," he declared, shaky as he made his way out the door.

"So dramatic," I whispered with a smile, a bit inspired by his sheer will to make things right.

He gave a final nod and a large grin as he left—heart set on proving Inari wrong and finishing the tree climbing exercise.

"…Should someone go after him?" Sakura piped up again, glancing around the table as she grew concerned for Naruto's sanity.

We all stayed silent, deciding to just let the knucklehead figure things out on his own.

…

**So excited that i'm able to update; procrastination is a fatal flaw of mine.**

**Any comments? Questions? Concerns? Let me know!**


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